Arc’teryx places repairs and renewal at centre of new pinnacle store in London

Arc’teryx Equipment has placed its repair and renewal services right at the heart of a pinnacle new store in London's Covent Garden, which is the Canadian brand's largest in Europe.

Housed in a former Burberry store on King Street, the 733sqm store covers two floors with the ground level floor given over to its full range of outdoor wear, including its signature Alpha and Beta shell jackets for men and women, insulated jackets and hoodies, and a new base layer concept.

Signature shell jackets and base layers

Also housed on the ground level is a community area where fans of the brand can congregate, learn more about the brand and its ambassadors or just hang out and read from a selection of books on outdoor pursuits.

The collection's colour palette is inspired by the Canadian landscape and by safety

The architecturally striking store features a curved glass ceiling onto which the brand has added its distinctive bird fossil logo, while fixtures and fittings are crafted from a range of natural materials including wood, metal and granite. A huge screen behind the cash desk displays inspirational content on outdoor pursuits.

The striking curved glass ceiling

On the lower ground, which includes living plants native to the brand's Vancouver roots along with fixtures crafted from Vancouver timber, the brand has also housed a "ReBIRD™ Service Centre", which is the only one of its kind in Europe.

Light-touch repairs such as zipper replacement and patching take place in-store

Here customers can bring their jackets or other items for light-touch repairs such as zipper replacements, Gore-Tex patching, technical washing, re-waterproofing and repair assessement. The area houses a leak tester, a heat press for patching and zip repairs and, even three washing machines. The brand recommends its apparel be washed after every four to six uses to revive the Gore-Tex.

Products that cannot be fixed in-store are send to the Arc’teryx repair centre in Scotland but many straightforward repairs can be carried out in just 15 minutes.

The ReBIRD centre is the only one in Europe

Dominique Showers, VP of ReBIRD™ and Circular Planning at Arc'teryx told TheIndustry.fashion that repairs have always been central to the philosophy of the brand. Repairs are also embraced by its customers who are often happy for them to be visible as evidence of the adventures they have had while wearing the items.

"Guests of our brand have similar values [to us]," said Showers. "People are emotionally attached to the garment. When they bring it back to us they are often anxious that they don't want it to go missing. [With ReBIRD™] we are thinking 'how do we further those memories?'"

The dedicated Veilance area and living plants feature

Also on the lower floor is a dedicated area for the brand's Veilance collection, which takes references from its active apparel and translates it into clothing that can be worn in more urban settings. The same technical fabrics and high-end finishing techniques are used to offer a similar high performance, but the lines are cleaner and there is no external branding.

Outside of the Arc’teryx store and website, the Veilance collection is also available at Dover Street Market, proving the cross-over appeal of the brand, whose approach to construction and style means it can sit happily in a high fashion environment, as well as in a performance focused store.

The new footwear collection

The footwear collection with products for hiking, climbing and trail running is on the lower ground floor. The new Vertex, Kragg and Sylan shoes (the first to be fully created by the brand from start to finish) will be available in-store from 6 March.

This Covent Garden flagship is one of three Arc'teryx stores in London with the others housed in Battersea Power Station and Piccadilly.