Bradford designer fashion shop’s new window display stops shoppers in their tracks

A designer fashion shop in Bradford is turning heads and inspiring selfies, thanks to a sensational new window display created to rival the famous and fabulous store front showcases of Liberty London, Harrods and Harvey Nichols.

I Luv Designer - a womenswear boutique on Carlisle Road in Manningham, owned by Nina Naheed and selling original Pakistani occasion wear and casual wear - is one of three small independent companies chosen to take part in the “shopper-stopper” collaboration between celebrated international window dresser Petra Storrs and social media organisation Facebook, launched today in support of female-owned small businesses across the UK.

Storrs, who has worked with fashion giants including Hermès and Louboutin, has also given a high fashion look to Clootie McToot Dumplings in Perth, Scotland, and Cinnamon Leaf in Tottenham, London.

With fewer people taking to the high street due to social distancing measures, window-browsing has suffered, leaving small businesses among the worst affected. The high-end shop front designs aim to encourage shoppers to take a closer look at the unique small businesses on their local high street to help them weather the current crisis.

To create the window for I Luv Designer, Storrs took inspiration from Pakistan’s Shalimar Gardens, using brightly coloured fabrics and dresses from the store’s new collections.

Nina Naheed said: “It came to us as a total surprise. It’s the only good news we have had for the business since the pandemic. They contacted us and explained how they could transform our front window into a more creative, more high-end window, and we jumped on the opportunity. I have never seen anything so elegant, imaginative, and it completely shows our culture and heritage.

“It took about two and a half days. It was unbelievable. Before, it was a very ordinary Asian shop display, nothing amazing or extraordinary about it. Now we can even see the passing traffic slowing down for the window. People taking selfies as well.

“It has been amazing to be a part of this campaign. Being able to use Facebook and Instagram to keep customers updated about the stock we have in the shop - even when they couldn't browse - and place orders for click and collect has been essential to our survival. We hope our window will attract new shoppers to either come in to sample our dresses, or check us out online.”

The project launch follows the release of research by Facebook, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and The World Bank highlighting the disproportionate impact lockdown has had on female business owners, finding that they are 12 per cent more likely to close as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Research has also suggested that women’s jobs are 1.8 times more vulnerable in the current economic climate, with a quarter of female business owners (compared with 10 per cent of male owners) reporting that they were spending six and more hours per day on domestic tasks and family care.

Despite this, women are taking the lead when it comes to digital sales, says Facebook, with 58 per cent of female-run businesses on the social media site reporting that 25 per cent or more of their sales were made digitally in the past month, versus 48 per cent of male owned.

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