Paradise found

The buzz is getting louder, the excitement intensifying. It’s finally here. The hoardings and barriers are coming down and, in five days’ time, Trinity Leeds will open its doors to the public for the very first time.

To celebrate the birth of the only major UK retail and leisure development opening this year, the Yorkshire Post was granted access to stage a fashion shoot before the unveiling, while the finishing touches were being carried out by the dedicated builders, engineers, electricians, fitters and so many others who have joined to create this spectacularly beautiful space. It was a privilege to be able to carry out our work alongside theirs, gazing up in wonder at the immense glass domed roof spanning the centre. Vast and empty, but for the workers and their cranes, it seemed to echo with the voices and footsteps of shoppers and pleasure seekers of the future, just as the sites of ancient Greece and Rome still resonate with the noise of those who once thronged their forums and temples.

The £350m development features more than 120 shops and restaurants – Superdry, Armani Exchange, Hollister and Mango, alongside the new Topshop and Topman store, Marks & Spencer, H&M, Primark, Burton, while local designers including James Steward will retail at the Made in Leeds store. More than 70 shops will open on launch day, followed by one a week until September, including Victoria’s Secret. April sees the opening of the biggest Everyman Cinema in the UK.

Designer Henry Holland has masterminded a “fashion spectacle” to mark the unveiling. “It’s going to be in the atrium space and it’s going to be awe-inspiring and huge – a huge installation that is going to appear as part of a performance piece,” he said.

Awe-inspiring, thrilling and utterly wonderful – the first, no doubt, of many adventures to come.

Twitter: @yorkshirefashQ