I don't care about the red carpet
The London Standard|October 24, 2024
Rejina Pyo dresses real women... and it's working
JOE BROMLEY
I don't care about the red carpet

To find the South Korean designer Rejina Pyo, 41, grinning on the fourth floor of the Soho Revue gallery is a remarkable thing. She is dressed in her own beige, pleated skirt, pinstriped white shirt, burnt orange sweater vest and cobalt blue adidas Sambas, busily curating an exhibition which will mark her brand's decade anniversary. I challenge you to find anyone working in the British fashion industry who will not tell you that is a momentous feat.

Why? Because keeping a fashion brand afloat in London today is- to put it bluntly- an expensive, bloody and often damn-near impossible task. Retail infrastructure is crumbling, aspirational shoppers creep ever closer to going the way of the dodo, and casualties are stacking up.

Leading luxury retailer Matches Fashion, onetime high-street overlord Ted Baker, and outfitter of the richest and most famous, The Vampire's Wife - all have fallen into administration in the past year. Remaining brands are crowding A&E.

Despite this, Pyo is still standing. We are only a stone's throw from her own shop on Upper St James Street, which opened in 2022 and is currently packed full of her signature style of wearable garments which have attracted a fiercely loyal customer base. "It's been 10 years but it feels more like 20," she says. "I appreciate how incredible it is to be a completely independent business at this status. To be loved and standing here - that in itself is amazing." Indeed, many would never have guessed it.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM THE LONDON STANDARDView all
Kylie Minogue loves the bar at Louie, startling Beefeaters and snooping in The Conran Shop
The London Standard

Kylie Minogue loves the bar at Louie, startling Beefeaters and snooping in The Conran Shop

Currently it’s largely suitcase-based as I’ve been doing so much travel for work, but Melbourne, Australia, is home.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 12, 2024
Are Spurs willing to invest what it takes to win trophies?
The London Standard

Are Spurs willing to invest what it takes to win trophies?

Criticism of the manager for the club's struggles misses the point-whatever he says, he's not been given a squad ready to push for the biggest honours

time-read
3 mins  |
December 12, 2024
Crowning glory awaits Britain's golden girl
The London Standard

Crowning glory awaits Britain's golden girl

Odds-on favourite to win BBC Sports Personality, Keely Hodgkinson never doubted she was ready to conquer the world

time-read
6 mins  |
December 12, 2024
Residents at war over £10 billion 'Shanghai-style' Earl's Court plan
The London Standard

Residents at war over £10 billion 'Shanghai-style' Earl's Court plan

Controversial proposals are causing a huge furore in west London

time-read
4 mins  |
December 12, 2024
The secrets of selling the capital's £40m homes
The London Standard

The secrets of selling the capital's £40m homes

Armed security, NDAs, a gold temple...inside the world of ultra high-end property deals

time-read
4 mins  |
December 12, 2024
Jenny Packham on Amsterdam why is truly magical at Christmas time
The London Standard

Jenny Packham on Amsterdam why is truly magical at Christmas time

The designer gets lost in the cobbled streets and is entranced by the city’s twinkling lights and unique spirit

time-read
3 mins  |
December 12, 2024
Alfies Antique Market
The London Standard

Alfies Antique Market

Here is a place to blindly lose oneself in a labyrinth of staircases and thresholds.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 12, 2024
Decline and fall: what comes after peak wellness?
The London Standard

Decline and fall: what comes after peak wellness?

The social elite are obsessed with devices that track their health but the backlash is building

time-read
2 mins  |
December 12, 2024
The newest AI can arrange your holiday- but will it be a strictly woke one?
The London Standard

The newest AI can arrange your holiday- but will it be a strictly woke one?

A lightning-quick artificial megabrain with an appetite for social justice? WILLIAM HOSIE has a chat with Claude Al

time-read
4 mins  |
December 12, 2024
'Fame just isn't healthy
The London Standard

'Fame just isn't healthy

Mercury Prize-winning band English Teacher on the pressure of success, trying not to burn out and the challenges black women face in indie music

time-read
5 mins  |
December 12, 2024