Luxe British womenswear brand ME and EM store to open in Harrogate this weekend
British womenswear brand ME+EM is opening a store in Harrogate this weekend, bringing its collections of considered and contemporary womenswear to Yorkshire. Yorkshire Post Fashion & Beauty Editor Stephanie Smith reports.
Following the recent opening of White Coco, in another fashion retail coup for the town, ME+EM has taken a 1,300 sq ft shop positioned prominently on Prospect Crescent. The brand’s only other Northern store is in Manchester.
The Harrogate store interior is decorated in a full colour drench of rich forest green, a nod to the Yorkshire Dales nearby, with traditional English furniture juxtaposed with modern design elements and soft furnishings in fabrications by London designer Rose Uniacke and plaster walls.
Founder and CEO Clare Hornby says: “We could see from our online data that we had a strong existing customer base in Harrogate, and once we combined that with customer feedback, we knew there was an opportunity for a boutique.
“I founded ME+EM in London in 2009. I had become frustrated that women always had to choose between quality and cost, between clothes that looked great and ones that you could actually function in.
“I realised that by adopting a direct-to-consumer business model and removing all middlemen, we could offer women luxury quality without the luxury price tag.
“We really did find the gap in the market, and it is what we call ‘modern luxury’.
See ME+EM collections here
“The brand is built on four key principles: flattering, functional, fashion and fair. These are what sit behind our ‘Intelligent Style’ ethos. By ensuring that every ME+EM product meets these benchmarks, our customers can be confident they are investing wisely in their wardrobes with us.”