Sweaty Betty, Space NK and Paul Smith join King’s Cross revival

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Feb 15, 2018

The area surrounding King’s Cross and St Pancras continues to add top fashion and beauty brands to its offering, ahead of the opening of the new Coal Drops Yard shopping quarter in autumn 2018.

Sweaty Betty, Space NK and Paul Smith are the latest brands to sign up for stores in the King’s Cross area, which is poised to see annual footfall rise to 18 million people by 2019.

British activewear brand Sweaty Betty and luxury beauty retailer Space NK have signed deals to open on King’s Boulevard, the pedestrian retail street connecting King’s Cross with Central St Martins.

The brands have taken the last remaining units on King’s Boulevard, which is also home to Nike, Jigsaw, Carhartt WIP plus & Other stories.

Sweaty Betty will open a 1,722 sq ft store in the spring, featuring the brand’s entire activewear and accessories collection, a hangout area for customers, free monogramming and kombucha on tap.

Sweaty Betty CEO Simon Hill-Norton, said: “King’s Cross is one of London’s most vibrant and energetic neighbourhoods right now. This is one of the most exciting developments I have witnessed in London and we can’t wait to join our friends in the area.”

The sportswear store will be followed by Space NK’s 1,800 sq ft space in September. This will be the beauty company’s 61st store and will have a “unique identity”, according to Space NK managing director Heather Alexander.

Meanwhile, British designer brand Paul Smith has agreed terms to open at Coal Drops Yard in October. The store will include a men’s suiting room covered in thousands of Japanese ¥1 coins and a blue tunnel with a rubberised playground floor linking the women’s room with a concept room. The latter will feature a rotation of store concepts, from the exclusive Japanese Red Ear collection to themed product launches celebrating events like Design Week and Frieze.

Paul Smith said: “As a man who’s travelled in and out of King’s Cross and St Pancras for many years and seen it change from a very rundown and sad area to become a vibrant and beautifully restored part of the city, it’s with great excitement that I’m opening a new shop there later in the year.”

Located in the heart of King’s Cross, the Heatherwick Studio-designed Coal Drops Yard will create a new shopping quarter in Central London. The scheme includes a pair of redesigned Victorian coal buildings, creating 100,000 sq ft of boutiques, shops, bars and restaurants.