Harrods Builds a New Home for Timeless Luxury, Knitwear and Tailoring Brands
LONDON — Read the room.
That’s just what Harrods wants customers to do when they visit the designer womenswear spaces undergoing a multiyear refurbishment that began last year and will continue into 2026.
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Harrods has been working with David Collins Studio to create a warm, beautifully lit environment, while the in-house team has also been thinking creatively, grouping brands and designers by theme and editing the shop floor so that it’s easier to read.
“It’s a confusing building — it’s not like a shopping street with straight lines,” said Simon Longland, the store’s director of buying, fashion.
He said the first floor, where the designer womenswear collections live, had grown organically over the years, spreading in all directions. “So what we’ve done now is reorganize, group brands that are like-minded and give them the proper space to breathe,” he said.
The new spaces are also very customer-focused, he added. “We want customers to arrive here, and be able to read the room — just like that,” he said with a snap of his fingers. “We also want to give them choice and a sense of discovery.”
The latest area to undergo refurbishment is the Designer Collection rooms, which offer a mix of shops-in-shop for bigger luxury brands such as Hermès, Brunello Cucinelli, Ralph Lauren and Yves Salomon and more specialist, niche names.
Near the row of shops-in-shop is a room that has the feel of an elegant town square. It’s filled with smaller branded spaces and pavilions for brands including Agnona, Colombo, Eleventy, Sa Su Phi, Nomadissem, Wolk Morais and Johnston’s of Elgin.
Longland said that while those brands may have different identities, they also have a lot in common. They are “ageless, timeless, seasonless,” with a focus on tailoring and knitwear and fabrics such as cashmere and silk. He also sees them as makers of wardrobe building blocks.
The newly refurbished space has a mix of wholesale and concession, and Harrods has marked the opening with a host of U.K. exclusives, including Agnona, Colombo, Wolk Morais and Nomadissem.
The brands see the new area as an ideal showcase. “We are glad to embark on our expansion in the U.K. region starting with such a great partner by our side,” said Stefano Aimone, Agnona’s chief executive officer and creative director.
Aimone designed the Harrods shop-in-shop himself. It features white marble walls, antique Venetian tiling techniques and handmade glass. At the heart of the room is a wooden counter inspired by the crates once used to transport premium wools hailing from various continents.
For Wolk Morais, the Los Angeles-based tailoring brand inspired by old Hollywood style, selling at Harrods is a milestone. Until now, the brand has been stocked at small specialty stores and done commissions for private clients and the red carpet.
“It’s our first big department store,” said Brian Wolk, who cofounded the brand with Claude Morais. He added that it was Longland who “discovered” them during one fashion week at the Palais Royal in Paris.
They have filled their Harrods space with a wide range of cocooning double-face coats, capes and bolero-style jackets in colors ranging from burgundy and brown to lipstick red and hot pink. The brand caters to men and women, and comes in a range of sizes.
Although the overall space hasn’t been open for long, tailoring has been a top seller, and clients have been buying “multiple pieces across several brands,” Longland said. He added that the Italian brand Colombo, which specializes in cashmere, is the number one in terms of sales.
The area resembles Harrods’ other newly refurbished rooms: Lingerie and Lounge, Evening and Occasion, and Holiday and Swim.
The palette takes in sage, taupe, cream and burnt orange. There are gold and silver rails, while floors have been done in timber parquet and two-tone marble. Walls and panels are covered in fabric, while dressing rooms have soft lighting and three-way mirrors.
There is more to come in the new year, with Max Mara and Moncler opening large shops-in-shop near the timeless luxury rooms.
In April, the final phase of the Designer Collection rooms will open, themed around prints, dresses and more trend-driven styles. Brands will include Roksanda, La DoubleJ, Missoni, Etro and Erdem.
Next fall, Harrods’ Superbrands room, which includes Prada, Gucci, Dior and Loro Piana, will be refurbished. The International Designer rooms, which feature names such as Givenchy, Chloé and Alaïa, will get a facelift in early 2026.
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