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"Christopher Bailey, the chief creative officer of Burberry, can\u2019t wait to show his father the company\u2019s new flagship store on London\u2019s Regent Street. To understand why, one must know two things: first, Bailey\u2019s father, one of the primary influences in his life, is a retired carpenter. Second, as with so many things Burberry-related, Bailey personally oversaw the transformation of the 44,000-square-foot space\u2014an amalgam of historic buildings with a 1920s fa\u00E7ade\u2014into an exquisitely renovated, technologically advanced showcase for the brand\u2019s 13 ever-expanding lines of apparel, accessories, and iconic outerwear.\n\n\u201CI\u2019m so excited,\u201D Bailey says, practically bouncing up and down on one of the specially made Georgian-style sofas with turned-oak legs that are placed throughout the store. Bailey, like his father, was born and bred in Yorkshire\u2014an English county that prides itself on both its textile heritage and its straight-talking, get-on-and-do-it style. \u201CMy dad is a real craftsman,\u201D he says. \u201CHe will absolutely appreciate the work that has gone into this project. He will see the finishes that so many other people will not.\u201D\n\nPinterestFacebook\n\nThe building, which incorporates structures dating back to the 19th century, has served numerous functions over the years, even housing a cinema, complete with a royal box, for four decades. Nosing grandly into one of London\u2019s busiest shopping quarters, the previously faded architectural relic is among the largest retail spaces in the West End. Credit goes to Bailey for bringing it back to life, just as he\u2019s done with Burberry itself since joining the company from Gucci in 2001. For starters he reoriented and expanded the brand, introducing stylish, more avant-garde apparel and accessories, while reinforcing the company\u2019s heritage as a maker of quality outerwear. By marrying that new identity with digital savvy, Bailey and then-CEO Rose Marie Bravo (succeeded by Angela Ahrendts in 2006) projected Burberry into the 21st century, making it one of the big commercial success stories of the past decade.\n\nBurberry was among the first fashion companies to harness the power of social media, and the first to live-stream its runway shows. It was also an early adopter of the idea that online advertising and brand presence (i.e., a great website) are increasingly critical to business. Even more unconventionally, Bailey set out to create an in-store shopping experience that closely mirrors the one buyers get on Burberry\u2019s website. \u201CWe wanted to totally merge the digital and the physical worlds,\u201D he says.\n\nPinterestFacebook\n\nA complete journey through the store\u2019s four floors takes in roughly 8,000 pieces, from small accessories, near the entrance, to the brand\u2019s luxe Prorsum line, on the top level. All the salespeople wear iPads\u2014carried in slim black leather messenger-style totes designed by Bailey\u2014which they use to show customers how personalized trench coats will look and to order out-of-stock items on the spot. Sensors on merchandise employ a technology called radio-frequency ID, which instantly triggers details and videos in mirrors that double as visual displays. The pi\u00E8ce de r\u00E9sistance is a 22-foot-high screen at the center of the store, where the company live-streamed its spring-summer 2013 runway show.\n\nTo power all of this digital gadgetry, some 200 miles of cable snake through the store, concealed beneath marble floors and behind oak paneling\u2014a bespoke traditional framework crafted by artisans as varied as stonemasons, lampmakers, reeded-panel specialists, and experts in Venetian plaster. Total man-hours worked: 300,000. Time to completion: two years.\n\nBailey\u2019s attention to detail is reflected in every aspect of the store, from the enormous bronze handles on the brass entrance doors to the huge cantilevered Greek-marble staircases that arc graciously skyward. \u201CThat curve at the back of the step was a bloody nightmare to get right\u2014we wanted the underside to feel soft and less harsh than Georgian staircases are apt to,\u201D Bailey says, laughing at his own rabid perfectionism.\n\nPinterestFacebook\n\nAs the renovation progressed, Bailey and his architects revised their plans as elements of the building\u2019s original architecture were uncovered. \u201CFor example, when we discovered a tailor\u2019s store with incredible chalk moldings, suddenly it was the only place for menswear to be,\u201D Bailey says. He leads the way to what is now called the Lantern Room, where an enormous 32-foot-high glass dome towers above the merchandise. \u201CThis is one of my favorite rooms\u2014we literally uncovered this,\u201D Bailey says. \u201CIt was hidden under a dropped ceiling, and nobody knew it was there. I love the idea that you can actually see the weather changing from inside the store, because so much of Burberry is about the weather.\u201D\n\nRight on cue a gigantic \u201Crainstorm,\u201D ingeniously conjured by a team of Burberry models drumming on their legs with their hands and then jumping as one to simulate a thunderclap, is broadcast across the store\u2019s 500 speakers and 100 digital screens. The storm sequence was inspired by a similar performance by a Polish orchestra that Bailey had seen. Enthusiastically, he demonstrates how it was done, including the emphatic jump. Perfectly executed, of course. At 121 Regent St., London; burberry.com"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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