Nanette Lepore opens in London

US designer Nanette Lepore has opened a boutique on London's Westbourne Grove in Notting Hill. It is the designer's first European outlet. "London is huge for me. It's such an important market and centre of commerce. I have a real passion for this city, and I really want London customers to love this store," Lepore told WWD. The Notting Hill store is similar to her US stores, which were designed by her uncle, Raymond Lepore. It offers her complete collection, including footwear and fragrances, like the recently released Shanghai Butterfly. The store also stocks jewellery by Erickson Beamon and David Aubrey and handbags by Ipanema.

Lepore already has a showroom in London that wholesales to clients including Fenwick's, Question Air, Mimi and Anna in London, Hero in Cambridge and The Square in Bath. First-year sales are projected to be between £800,000 and £1 million. Although Lepore says international sales only represent a small proportion of total sales, she believes "there's a lot of potential here."