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No expense has been spared in the makeover of Harrods' women's footwear department and the money has been well spent, with the glamorous surroundings complementing the luxury offer.
Marigay McKee, Harrods' fashion and beauty director, looks around her and professes to be "very, very pleased". We're standing in the middle of the newly completed women's footwear department at Harrods, which Drapers reviewed last month, perhaps a little harshly, when the final touches of the makeover were still being put into place.
Now the 20,000 sq ft space (23,000 sq ft if you include the nearby Shoe Boudoir, run and managed by Kurt Geiger) is looking busy and everything is where it should be. So with the covers off and the wraps down, how have things progressed and what confronts the shopper in search of a luxury footwear experience?
The 10 branded shop-in-shops notwithstanding (think Dior, Prada, Miu Miu and Tod's, for instance), all of which have their own distinct shopfits, the first thing the visitor is likely to notice is the ceiling - a swirling bronze creation. "It's art deco," says McKee, "and it's part of making the shoes like jewels; this is about the product as hero."
She says there are about 120 brands in the department, located on the first floor. A lot of footwear to accommodate therefore, and making this a reality is achieved with plinths and tables in the mid-shop and a perimeter wardrobe system that has brand labels that can be changed at the click-clack of a Manolo Blahnik heel.
The intent, says McKee, pointing at...