In the second semester of our course we were split into
small groups. Our group consisted of three members, Georgia Nikolaou, Andrea
Christophi and Costantina Pavlou. Each one of us chose two different stores in
Nicosia to visit together. We agreed to use the participating way for the
project. In each store that we visited we would start a conversation with the
employee and the owner - if possible and at the end we would take photos of the
interior and exterior of the place.
The first shop that
we visited was Topshop. The building that hosts the store is square and elegant
and situated in Makariou Street. The lighting in the shop makes the clothes
pop. The music that is playing in the store was preselected by the company.
It’s a CD without any known music bands. It is very spacious inside and you can
easily move around the clothes. The temperature of the room was normal and they
didn’t use any aromatic fresheners. The
first thing that caught our eye was the new collection of the store, opposite
the entrance. The sale assistances don’t wear any uniform. The consumers of
the store are mostly teenagers and can flex up to the ages of 40 years old.
In Nicosia, there are
two TOPSHOP and we visited both. The pictures here, are from the TOPSHOP
situated in Ledras street. The TOPSHOP in Ledras street is the same to the
Makariou street comparing the size. The store in Ledras street has more items
to sell.
The
second shop that we visited was London Clothing, which is located in the same
street as the first one. We were surprised by the loud music that was playing
inside. The music was from Athens party, an internet radio station. There was a
light scent of exotic fruits. The lighting was pointing towards the clothes.
All the clothes of the shop are brought from London. It was easy for us to move
around the shop. We noticed that the shop had both women’s and men’s clothing
and accessories, for ages around 14 -45 years old. The sales assistant is
normally wearing a uniform with the store’s name on it.
Our next stop was Jango, in Mnasiadou Street. The shop’s
window was impressing and unusual, there were thick cords and bicycle wheels
hanging above the clothes. When we entered the space we noticed that it smelled
like raspberry and it was full of light. Jango has a lot of modern clothes and
some accessorises. The music that was playing was mainly jazz and house. The
staff was wearing clothes from the shop. The shop usually attracts ages around
16 - 50.
Flashback
was the next store on the list. It is placed in Vasilis Friderikis Street. The
building of the store is square and of minimal architecture. The interior of
the shop is industrial chic with red brick on the wall and some hooks that are
used to hang vintage purses and hats. The changing rooms have fuchsia cameos
wallpaper. The large windows of the store bring the sun light inside and it
helps the shopper to have a clearer view on the items. The signature aroma of
the store has always been vanilla. The sales woman had her own personal style.
The clothes that are been sold in Flashback are mostly vintage. They are
handpicked by the owner, Ioanna Moyseos, and they are mostly dead stock from
older brands that no longer exist in the retail business. In the past two years
the shop has also brought in clothes designed by Natalie C. Amongst the clothes
someone can also find vintage jewellery, accessories and really high heels. The
target group of the store are between the ages of 20-30 years old.
Then we headed off to Ledras Street to visit LA Lanidor
store. The building is dressed with marble stone. The lighting inside was low
and pointing on the clothes and the space was quit open. There was a smell of
white roses and the music was relaxing. The sales assistant wears Lanidor’s
clothes. She was very polite and helpful. LA Lanidor is a store for any
professional woman.
Our last store was Wedding Exclusive in Kyriakou Matsi Street
that is owned by the Cypriot stylist Notis Panagiotou. The windows of the shop
were very glamorous, they had white stuffed wolfs and silver chandeliers next
to the wedding dresses. It was the biggest shop that we entered, full of light.
There was a lot of empty space to walk around and observe the gowns. The smell of the store was jasmine. The
clothes are designed by Cypriot designers and they are for special occasions.
Notis Panagiotou manages the store by himself and pays special attention to his
customers. His dress code is casual chic and as a result it sets a friendly
mood for the store. In our conversation he mentioned that most of his costumers
have ages between 20-60 years old.
All the stores above are important for the consumer that is
interested in fashionable items. They all have something unique and can dress
you from day to night, head to toe. It was a very interesting experience and
helped all of us in the group share information on stores that we never visited
before. At the end of our trip in the shops we realised that interior design of
a fashion store is very important to the consumer. The most significant of all
is the lighting, which helps the clothes pop out, the smell and the sounds that
set the mood. It was very challenging to talk to the shop assistants but for
our surprise all of them was very helpful and kind with us.
