COLLABORATIVE BRIEF//TED BAKER//STORE OPENING//OUGD503

As we are going to create an event that opens three stores in Italy for the Ted Baker, When in Rome... campaign I looked into the brand launching a store in Canada to get a better idea of the kind of thing we want to create.

TED BAKER LAUNCHES FIRST CANADIAN STORE:

Toronto, November 16, 2012 - Some of my best memories of London include Chelsea football matches, Cornish pasties, local pubs, legendary nightclubs and music festivals, and of course my drives and strolls around town. I used to visit Covent Garden often to see what my favourite men’s fashion labels had in store. Ted Baker Londonwas and still is one of those favourite labels. You can imagine how happy I was to find out that the whimsical and stylish fashion label was opening their first Canadian store in Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. Opening to the public officially today, Ted Baker is offering its full collection of menswear, womenswear, footwear and accessories in a beautiful new store whose finishing touches were still being applied as I arrived for the media preview yesterday afternoon.

Inspired by the great Canadian outdoors and the timeless tradition of English lakeside picnics – the new store is designed to capture a thrilling British blend of tradition and modernity. Dubbed ‘No Ordinary Designer Label’, Ted Baker London does not engage in traditional advertising. What they decided to do was to invite a small team of prominent social media influencers to act as ambassadors. Christopher Turner, Brock McLaughlin, Casie Stewartand yours truly were invited to an exclusive shopping experience at last night’s media preview. We picked out, purchased and wore pieces from our favourite Ted Baker Fall/Winter 2012 looks. The store and the FW12 collection looked amazing. No surprise there, but I was surprised to see how incredible the womenswear was. Didn’t see that coming. I picked up a sleek, navy blue, double-breasted reefer coat (a.k.a. Gimjee) crafted from a fine smooth wool tri-blend with a touch of cashmere for softness. It matched perfectly with my plaid Scotch & Soda dress shirt, blueFrank & Oak tie, phthalo green H&M trousers, and brown Gianfranco Ferre shoes (photo below).

Yorkdale Shopping Centre is bringing shoppers an unprecedented shopping experience with the opening of their 145,000 square foot expansion. “Our goal is to provide shoppers with the most desirable retail options possible,” said Yorkdale General Manager Anthony Casalanguida. “We’ve accomplished that in less than two years and with an impressive roster of new and interesting brands. Yorkdale is already one of Canada’s most successful shopping centers. Today’s opening is just reinforcing our position as the country’s leading shopping destination.”

Kate Spade New York, LOFT, Microsoft, and Tesla Motors also opened their first Canadian stores in Yorkdale today. Other noteworthy retailers within the expansion include Ann Taylor’s second Canadian store, Anthropologie, Best Buy Mobile, David’s Tea, Diesel, JOEY Yorkdale Grill & Lounge, the North Face, L’Occitane, Papyrus, an exclusive Rolex boutique at Raffi Jewellers, Ta-ze, and Wilfred Boutique. Apple, Bell, Bluenotes, Champs, Club Monaco, Hugo Boss, Lacoste, Lululemon, Mappins, Starbucks and TELUS now have refurbished and larger locations within the expansion and Holt Renfrew will be opening a flagship store within the expansion in 2013.

To celebrate the opening of Ted Baker’s first Canadian store they are holding an in-store weekend long picnic (Nov. 16-18) in the woods themed celebration. Consumers will also have the chance to enter to win a $2,500 shopping spree! You guys have to swing by and check it out. You’ll love it.