Following its first pop-up in London in 2018, Amsterdam-based blog-turned-streetwear-label Daily Paper has launched a flagship in the city’s lively Soho area. Designed by Floor Hoeke (OwnSpaceStudio), the store focuses on two key elements: community and culture. Offering what the brand describes as a ‘distinct Afro-centric take on culture’, Daily Paper continued to plug in to the London community after the pop-up by working on campaigns and collaborations with local creatives such as art collective Muslim Sisterhood.

The flagship gives the brand a London home base for presenting future collaborations of a similar vein – measuring over 200 sq-m, the space was designed not merely for retail but for hosting community events and gatherings. Its opening coincided with the launch of Daily Paper: Unite Sessions, a series of performances produced in house that aim to showcase young talents from across London.

The interior itself combines references to Daily Paper’s founders’ home base of the Netherlands as well as their countries of origin; Ghana, Somalia and Morocco are respectively symbolized by a lion, leopard and eagle in a floor mosaic at the store’s entrance. The Dutch design elements, on the other hand, do double duty as sustainability symbols. Downstairs, for example, a seat-slash-product-display-unit created by The Good Plastic Company is crafted from recycled plastic plates, while Dirk van der Kooij’s Chubby chairs – each printed from 10 kg of chipped, recycled fridge interiors – feature in the fitting rooms.

Frame’s take
Gone are the days of brands projecting an identical image the world over. More and more, savvy retailers are realizing that for their stores to become people magnets, they have to offer something specific to the people in question. Thus, local retail is on the rise, as is the transformation of monosyllabic stores into multipurpose arenas. If Daily Paper can live up to its goal of becoming a cultural community hub, it will no doubt extend its loyal tribe. Having followed a pop-up, this project also highlights the ongoing advantage of the typology in determining fixed future plans.