The Fold heads to the city for second London store

Smart womenswear brand The Fold has opened a new store at 2 Royal Exchange Buildings in the heart of east London’s financial district, "bringing modern luxury workwear to its customers’ office doorsteps".

The new 646 sq ft store was designed by all-female team Studio Jill, who also designed the brand’s first flagship store at 28 Cadogan Place in Chelsea, which opened in 2018. Up to that point, The Fold was an online-first business – which launched in 2012 – though it did operate a showroom in Clerkenwell in 2013.

The store design is inspired by the original features of the Royal Exchange Buildings, including high ceilings and "dramatic proportions".

Polly McMaster, Founder and CEO of The Fold, said: "We’re thrilled to open our second store in such an iconic location.

"After years of serving remarkable women in our flagship store in Chelsea, we’re excited to start this new chapter in the Royal Exchange Buildings, welcoming even more professional women into The Fold."

The new store stocks the brand’s Workwear Foundations collection, described as "premium pieces to form the building blocks of a Monday to Friday wardrobe", as well as limited-edition occasionwear styles.

In 2023, The Fold announced it had raised over £1.6 million via Crowdcube, following a campaign to encourage more women to invest.

The capital raised went towards funding the new store and will support the brand’s international growth plans, including the opening of a new store in the US in the future.