Created in 1970 by Joan Burstein, which everyone today knows as “Mrs. B ”, and her husband Sydney, an independent Browns boutique, among others,“ brought to the public ”such contemporary style legislators as Christian Louboutin John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Hussein Chalayan. In the 1980s, Browns was the first boutique to introduce American designer brands such as Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Bill Blass and Donna Karan to the English elite. It was fortunate to once be exclusively represented at Browns and to brands such as Armani, Azzadine Alaia, Missoni, Sonia Rykiel, Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney and Jil Sander. And so far, Browns continues to support young and talented designers. Recently, the collections of this boutique have been replenished with the products of Philip Lim, Alexander Wang, Christopher Kane and Gareth Pooh.
And for his 40th birthday, Browns, in collaboration with 40 designers, presented a unique project called “Future Collectables”. As part of the project, the leading fashion houses of the world were asked to either browse their archives and release a limited collection of the most famous model, or create a new model that would become the “icon” of this house. At the same time, on Browns birthday on April 14th, these exclusive collections were presented in London, Berlin, Zurich, Geneva and Dubai. Simon Burshtein, Browns CEO, flew to Dubai to present the anniversary collection at Ounass Boutique located at Jumeirah Emirates Towers. We were lucky to personally congratulate Simon on Browns birthday and get answers to our questions.
Simon, how do you feel about celebrating the 40th anniversary of Browns boutique this year? Who are your fans? And by what principle are designers working with Browns selected?
The first thing I feel is pride in my family, which for many years worked on the image of Browns and tried to maintain new names in the fashion world, presenting the best collections and the best level of services to our customers. 40 years is a milestone, but not yet age. As for the designers, everyone who participated in the “Future Collectables” project are our friends, and gladly responded to our offer. In my opinion, we have got an interesting and very expressive selection. If we talk about fans, then in London Browns we have many regular customers from Russia. They like the fact that at Browns you can always get the “best of the best” - from the largest brands to young designers.
What do you represent in Dubai?
A small part of “Future Collectables”, since only female items arrived in Dubai, and in London we have a special store for men. But women have a unique opportunity to buy exclusively in a Dubai Ounass jacket from Balenciaga, a military-style Ann Demeulemeester jacket in black wool with metal rivets and antique buttons, a red Christopher Kane Eva dress or an original David Koma dress, gold Christian Louboutin slippers and other awesome stuff. This is the quintessence of our anniversary collection.
Who today finds young designers for Browns and is creating collections?
Our shopping specialists are “buyers.” Their team consists of seven people who travel around the world - from Europe and America to Australia and Korea. Many designers simply know about Browns and turn to us when they have something to say to the fashion world. Because Browns is rightfully considered a "window" into this world. Good reputation for a family company, right? Therefore, even I, choosing clothes and shoes for myself, try to listen to our specialists. They definitely will not advise bad things. Recently, with their help, we opened a separate youth store in London called the Browns Focus, which contains amazing youth collections, which, incidentally, can be found in Dubai at Bloomingdale's gallery. This is a separate, but also very interesting story.
What is primary for you: fashion or style?
Of course the style. If a person has a sense of his own style, it is not very important what he is dressed in. It is more important for me that even the most fashionable clothes should not obscure my personality.
A person should feel good and comfortable, and always want to return to that store where he is allowed to make his own choice. That's why I advise everyone to definitely look into Ounass, maybe Browns managed to present in Dubai exactly the thing that you have been looking for so long. And if so, then I will be sincerely glad.
Thanks Simon. We will be happy to celebrate with you all subsequent Browns birthdays.
