Warehouse still offers ‘Design for the High Street’

Ahead of it’s 40th anniversary next year, British high street label Warehouse has been quietly rediscovering its roots whilst honing its product offering to ensure their collections entice and surprise their customers across the globe. This weekend marks the launch of the brands three new overseas concession stands in Dutch premium department store de Bijenkorf, which will carry the brand’s upcoming Spring-Summer ‘15 range.

"We thought about our customer in all elements of her life; relationships, work, play, and we wanted to build a collection that was really versatile that suited whoever she might choose to be that day," said Toni Morden, Head of Design, on Warehouse's SS ‘15 collection. In order to learn more about the brand’s history, collections and Morden’s vision of Warehouse design aesthetics ahead of its impending launch, FashionUnited sat down to chat to her about her role at the high street label, her design inspiration and what the brand really stands for.

"I'd always had my eye on Warehouse, because to be honest, I'd loved it since I graduated from University,” explained Morden, who left her position at River Island in order to take up her current role at Warehouse in June, 2013. “I have been a customer for a long time and over the years I felt like it had developed into a very nice British brand. So when I saw the opportunity to join the label, I felt like I had the chance to come into a company and help make it better."

In the past, Warehouse was known for it’s feminine women’s wear, in particular its unique prints, woven looks and soft jacquards. However, over the years the brand moved away from prints in favour of a cleaner look. “I think the process had broken down a little bit in how the design team worked with print,” noted Morden. “I think that print technology had moved on and Warehouse had not found the right process for them. The designers were not being nurtured and were working in a way that was a little old fashioned.”

Warehouse pays close "attention to detail" for Spring/Summer '15

“So when I first joined the team, my task was to look at what was the best way they should work, how to get them more involved in what they were designing and to get them excited and design beautiful print. It was really about getting the team fully engaged in what they were doing and really loving it. Then, once that happened the rest followed on its own." For their SS ‘15 collection, Morden and her team aimed to design a collection that fulfilled the many different roles women have to play in today’s society, whilst remaining true to the brand’s loyal clientele.

"The key focus for us at the moment, especially for our Spring/Summer '15 collection, is attention to detail, which is something Warehouse did very well in the past but perhaps forgot a little bit about over the years. We like to think about travelling and different countries when we look for inspiration for our collections,” she added. “We like to think about a place, where someone might have visited. This season's inspiration came from the idea of the jungle, but in a more colonial, almost 1920s style jungle, kind of palm prints themed. Actually, a lot of our palm print ideas came from old wallpapers and interior design magazines.”

“I think that the 1970s became the overriding inspiration for us after we saw the Spring-Summer '15 catwalks and saw the shift to the 70s bombshells. So we introduced the wide-legged trousers and flares, but our original inspiration remained that colonial era, with a bit of safari mixed in, alongside a militant-utility theme, thick fabrics and structured pieces. Although, the brand is definitely more contemporary and modern now that it was a year and half ago. We can't really push that aspect any further though because we need to hold onto our core customer, and she is very loyal.”

Warehouse has had a few facelifts over the past years, both design wise and internally, but it does its best to remain true to its core customer and ideals. But how does Morden see Warehouse’s ideal customer? "Our ideal customer, the woman we think about the most when we design, is a career girl. She's in the office, she is out and about and she has a lot of things in her diary, whether it's going for a drink or a meal or another special occasion like the races or a wedding, she basically enjoys life and needs a wardrobe that supports her in that.”

“She is confident and she really likes good quality pieces, but does not like faddy fashion. She would not change her style completely just because something is in fashion now. The ideal customer for us is someone who feels very flattered by the way things fit, because we spend a lot of time thinking about fit and the quality of the garment. Whether it is something that is going to last more than one season."

Warehouse strives "to make sure everything is good value for money"

Despite Warehouse’s commitment to offering fashionable, quality garments, the number of high street competitors have increased over the years and include of fast-fashion labels such as H&M, Zara and Mango, who are trying to offer the latest trends for as little as possible. Had Morden felt pressure to change the brand’s designing process? “The handwriting needs to be carefully considered and we are really thinking about how our core customer wants to wear our clothes and just giving her the best possible product for her money.”

“We strive to make sure everything we make is good value for money, whether it is something entry priced point or something a little more premium - can our customer see why she's having to pay more? We are making better designed products, with a big focus on fabrics because the competition like Zara, who is great at fabric sourcing, keeps us on our toes, so we have to make sure we source better."

When the fashion label opened its first store on Duke Street in 1976, it aimed to offer ‘design for the high street,’ making fashion accessible to all. Is that phrase something that Morden and the design team still relate to? "‘Design for the High Street' is still very much there for us and it is in everything we do. It is in the blood of the company to think that way. But I think we need to refocus on that phrase and make sure that every piece we design, every garment we are putting in the collection is really doing that job.”

“By focusing on redistributing the workload among designers and focusing on key trends has allowed the design team to focus on making each garment better, rather than trying to create thousands of pieces. What we aim to do is introduce a higher level of detail to some garments as well as embellishment. We will be moving forward with our product, which will be better conceived, considered, better designed with better fabrics."

In honor of the label’s launch in de Bijenkorf, Warehouse will be offering the first 50 customers to visit its shop-in-shops in Rotterdam and Den Haag, a free personalized clutch bag, designed by British Illustrator Lo Parkin as well as the chance to win a 500 euro shopping spree in de Bijenkorf Rotterdam, Den Haag and Maastricht.