It is now officially open and boy, what an incredible place it is. It may be entirely dedicated to women’s shoes and I may be a man but I do love great designs and hell, many women’s shoes are quite simply a work of art.
My first visit to the Shoe Galleries easily surpassed my expectations when I went to visit the place a few days ago. What I expected to see was one giant open space filled with masses of shoes laid out all over – something like a glorified warehouse but what I got was something entirely different. It is much like a shopping centre but purely for shoes – with branded shops (Gucci, Prada, Chanel, Christian Louboutin) all around the place. They are all very beautiful and look luxurious – even the Topshop section looks classy.
There are 4,000 shoes from 150 brands on display and 55,000 shoes in stock – all on one enormous floor. Apparently it’s over half the size of Palace of Versailles according to the department’s specially commissioned newspaper, “The Shoes Paper” (guest edited by Susie Lau of Style Bubble).
The moment you enter the gallery, you first come across the high street brands such as All Saints, River Island, Office, Topshop and the deeper down the long hall you go, you move towards the high end names such as Chanel, Gucci, Prada apartments. My favourite shop is the Christian Louboutin one – that place is pure luxury inside – not just the shoes but the decor and sofas.
Absolutely worth visiting. Below you will find a video (which doesn’t do the place justice) and the photos, which were taken with the manager’s permission. If you have a fast internet connection, I would advise watching it in 720p mode instead of 360p for best video quality.
