Mount Street W1 Fashioncentral
London’s newest hotspot
With new stores from Marc Jacobs and Lanvin, Mount Street is rapidly becoming London’s latest magnet for fashion insiders. Robina Dam checks in and shops out
HOW HAS MOUNT STREET SUDDENLY BECOME LONDON’S UBER-LUXE FASHION DESTINATION? This little known street’s fashion credentials have recently been rubber-stamped with the arrival of a Lanvin boutique. And where Alber Elbaz – Lanvin’s creative director and fashionista prophet – leads, others are quick to follow.
Hence, this quiet Mayfair street just off Berkeley Square, which used to be better known for art galleries and antique stores, has suddenly become a destination for those who know their Marc Jacobs pumps from their Balenciaga cone heels. Of course, it could be that you’re heading there to visit the Jordan International Bank. More likely you’ve come to get your luxury fashion fix. You can walk from one end to the other in a matter of minutes and best of all, it has none of the crowds of Bond or Sloane Streets.
What are you waiting for – apart from the opening of the new Stephen Webster jewellery store any moment now?
No.12 
Balenciaga +44 (0)20 7317 4400 Their spring/summer collection won plaudits from the front row editors for creative director Nicolas Ghesquière, but that doesn’t always lead to commercial success. Yet right now the house seems to be pressing all the right buttons. Although this climate would seem the least likely one for Balenciaga to flourish – this season’s cone-heeled shoes are around the £725 mark, for instance – fans continue to flock
HOT TIP: The high-tech design of the boutique is worth a visit in its own right.
No.16 
Wunderkind +44 (0)20 7493 4312 This label has less popular recognition but is a favourite with the glossy posse. Think outrageously kitsch prints which turn out to be really wearable; avant-garde tailoring that makes the spring/summer collection full of interesting pieces.
HOT TIP: For a fashion house, Wunderkind actually do an excellent line in skincare. Check out the 24-Hour Max Hydration, £65, a light but highly effective moisturiser.
No.17 
Christian Louboutin
+44 (0)20 7491 0033 Given that almost every screen star seems to step forth in Louboutin’s signature red-soled shoes, it was only fitting that visiting should feel like entering a place of art. After all, Louboutin is part of the holy trinity of shoe names with Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo.
HOT TIP: For those who are scared of Louboutins vertiginous stilettos (five inches at the last totter) you can mix style with security with lower heels.
I opted for a pair of his kitten-heel slingbacks – stylish but you can still trot for a cab.
No.19 Jo Hansford
+44 (0)20 7495 7774 This hair salon was the mecca for colour for all A-listers – from Elizabeth Hurley to the Duchess of Cornwall. It is now turning its hand to on-trend haircuts thanks to stylist Dino Georgiou who does some of the best blow-dries in town. Although it was at the vanguard of the move to Mount Street (opening here about 10 years ago), Jo Hansford has kept its appeal to beauty editors by stocking the latest Kérastase products – including the brand new Jo Hansford haircare line.
HOT TIP: The salon is closed on Mondays. Well-behaved pet pooches are also allowed to sit patiently with their equally wellgroomed mistresses.
No.24 Marc Jacobs,
+44 (0)20 7399 1690 When it opened late last year, the boutique – which offers the Marc Jacobs mainline collection for both men and women – upped the cool quotient of Mount Street significantly. Suddenly the street was less patrolled by ladies of a certain age and more by fashion mavens who knew that they could get their hands on minimal T-shirts or limited edition fragrance splashes.
HOT TIP: The diffusion line Marc by Marc Jacobs is due to open by the beginning of May at the end of the street (closest to South Audley Street). Such is the brand’s confidence that the two shops will only be a stiletto-heel-step away from each other.
No.109 Annick Goutal
+44 (0)20 7629 8507 The French perfume house brings a whiff of Parisian style to Mount Street with its first store in the UK. For the first time, the Annick Goutal jewellery collection (designed by Virginie Monro) and lingerie by Vannina Vesperini can also be seen in the lavishly seductive boutique set over two floors. So prestigious is the brand
that it was rumoured the late President Mitterand sent one of these scents to Charles and Diana to mark the birth of Prince William.
HOT TIP: Check out the latest addition to the scent collection, Un Matin d’Orage, £71 for 100ml.
3a Carlos Place Jenny Packham
+44 (0)20 7493 6290 Technically speaking, Jenny Packham’s new boutique is classed as Carlos Place, which opens out from Mount Street towards Grosvenor Square. But as the doorway stands on Mount Street,
we’re going to include it here. With Packham’s signature heavy beading on full-length evening dresses and slinky cocktail minidresses, her creations hang like jewellery in the darkly furnished, atmospheric boudoir. This is a place that oozes extravagance; it’s very popular with Russian clientele.
HOT TIP: Generally Packham’s frocks are better suited to those long of limb. If you’re more Kylie Minogue than Linda Evangelista, stick to the cocktail numbers.
