Wednesday 19 September 2012

Four swans and a hare move to Mayfair

Late last week four elegant swans and one plucky hare left their Shoreditch creative base, strutted their way across an ever admiring capital and opened shop in the heart of Mayfair. It sounds quite the fairy tale but that is exactly (well, almost) what happened. Over the course of three whirlwind years we've all been captivated by the story of Mr. Hare and now the label opens a new chapter as it dips its toe in to retail. What started as one man's selfish pursuit of great shoes has delighted and treated the feet of man. Season upon season, the carefully crafted work in progress pens a new chapter for the wanting contemporary men's shoe world. There is a constant sense of evolution in this label's narrative and now Mr. Hare has its own flagship retail flagship on Stafford Street.

Now, for the very first time the entire Mr. Hare collection will be available in every colour and every size, under one roof and presented in the personality of Marc Hare with a timeless Mayfair Deco style mixed with a few original Italian furniture pieces and some sumptuous fixtures and fittings. The fervent and loyal following of Hare's elegant footwear are now able to experience the brand in its own environment at a level of service, the Italian made shoes have always yearned for. All of your shoe whims and fancies can be satisfied with a trip to Stafford Street. With At Large in store, the likes of newcomers Bacon, Deacon, Wilde, Cook, Freud and Bernard sit happily alongside the reworked old favourites of Vonnegut, Stingray Orwell and Miller.

As you should all know by now Mr. Hare, the brand not the man, was conceived at a roadside tapas bar in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Andalucia, Spain on July 23rd 2008. It was born out of his realisation that there just were simply not enough shoes in the world that he liked. Thankfully, for us he decided to do something about it. Ever the shoe aficionado, Hare looked to the woven leather shoes of an old gentleman sitting next to him, admired them but decided that with a few tweaks they could be awesome. Moments later the brand was born. From this point it took a mere three hundred and sixty days for his creations to land on the shop floor at Dover Street Market. The rest is history and Hare is not one to look back as he opens his first standalone store just a short distance away from the market. There are still many chapters left to enjoy. For now, take my hand and let me take you on a visual tour of the four hundred square foot space that marks an exciting beginning...

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A quick tour of 8 Stafford Street.

Despite the swift and sustained success that has seemingly enveloped Mr. Hare since the brand's inception back in 2009, Hare himself is far from content. "I'm excited, it is all about development and striving forward, there's so much more that I want to do," the designer explained before taking a well deserved sip of wine. Always moving and learning, he's hungry for more and so are we. We're in for a treat.

9 comments:

Duck said...

Great post, I really didn't know that much about Mr Hare before! I really liked some of their earlier collections although they were always too pricey for me to justify at the time.

Looking at the latest offering I'm not so sure they're my style any more (kind of look like shapes my Dad would wear - tassels etc), not quite as sleek. Although they do look like very good quality. Great that they have a store now, I'll definitely have to pop in and see the collection for myself when I'm next back in London.

On another note, I kind of wish they'd done something more with the shop frontage. The black/white logo seems to jar a bit with the old-fashion green marble and wood.

Unknown said...

Nice post.

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Style Salvage Steve said...

Duck: I do love recounting the story of Mr. Hare, I think I know it better than my own! They are on the expensive side but that's because no corners are cut and the finest materials possible are used, I've always seen a pair a season as an investment. What can I say, it's an addiction. Despite adding styles that might not be your cup of tea, he's always reworking old style including the Stingray Orwells (my particular favourite) and I can see you in a pair of lux King Tubby Specials. As for the store front, it is still a work in progress and I see your point but I do love the neon logo sign that gradually changes colour.

Jacob said...

I really love those brown laced shoes. It's such a bright brown that it really stands out against a more colourful piece like the blue trousers in the picture. Great stuff!

BougieHippie said...

another awesome post! this store has everything a guy needs.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the info Steve, I haven't check out Mr. Hare in a while. I actually first knew of Mr. Hare in Hong Kong, I think they're selling alright there too, I just remember noticing that his shoes are really quite well made, but they were pricy.

Anonymous said...

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Joy D. said...

Congratulations goes to a hard working individual that creates an exciting loafer and oxford.

Duck said...

Yes, the Stingray Orwells are the nicest by far! But then stingray kind of has that effect on anything...

I'm not sure about the King Tubby Specials. In theory I like the design but so far I haven't found a picture of a colour combination that really works for me. I think for the prices they have to be *exactly* what you want in a shoe, or they aren't worth it.

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