Gant is one of those odd brands that makes you think it’s something it really is not. This may be a Swedish-headquartered enterprise, but to the casual observer it sits alongside names such as Banana Republic, Brooks Brothers and perhaps Ralph Lauren, in its more casual moments, as a purveyor of preppy Americana.
Walk into a Gant store and you are on the U.S. East Coast: Its origins are in fact U.S., but it was bought by a Swedish corporation at the end of the ’90s.
And now the Stockholm-based and designed brand has opened a new store in London: Gant Rugger, its first in the U.K. The name alone tells you much of what you need to know. For those familiar with the English education system, “rugger” is what’s played on the fields of “public schools” (and yes, that’d be private schools in the U.S.) by young men with chiselled jawlines and a well-developed sense of self-worth.
This store, in fashionable Soho (in the West End of London), is an exercise in promoting a lifestyle that is elusive for most, but which many hanker after. From the exterior, it is disarmingly plain and simple and would actually be quite easy to miss amid Soho’s bright lights and metro-glitz.
Yet, walk through the door and you are immediately drawn into a world that actually bears quite a close comparison with many of the upscale menswear outlets in this part of the capital. Minimalistic concrete and reclaimed wood flooring are to the fore, with vintage furniture used both as a vehicle for displaying the merchandise and for relaxing on, with a sofa and chairs toward the back of the shop.
The store could actually be an independent menswear outlet – and this is where Gant touches down. It is not an indy, but it feels perfectly in tune with the design-forward, louche nature of Soho, which is where the independent luxury retailer thrives in the U.K. This is a brand that understands that to make something work you have to have attitude and an ability to fit in.