Boxpark, Shoreditch

Having missed the Boxpark launch before Christmas, I have been keen to form my own opinion. I finally made a visit on Sunday to the Shoreditch site to see for myself.

Boxpark is certainly eye-catching as the sixty fashion, arts and lifestyle brands there all occupy a single black shipping container besides Shoreditch overground. The scheme had a huge amount of press during its opening partly because it was labeled as “the world’s first pop-up mall”. The term conjures a more impressive and grand image than the reality, but it is still quite an impressive structure in what was up-until-recently wasteland.

Roger Wade, who created the concept, selected his brands very carefully and he has done a great job. It mixes established and proven urban brands such as Calvin Klein and Nike, with young and up-and-coming brands from Luke to One True Saxon who are tempted by cheap, short-term rents. The brands are a little too sports and urban focused for my style but it suits its niche extremely well. It is also a fantastic place to nurse a coffee whilst sat on its raised veranda in the sunshine, which is exactly what I did.