66°North to open on Regent Street, will be Europe flagship

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Jul 4, 2022

​Icelandic clothing brand 66°North is to open a UK flagship store in London’s West End this autumn. The store will be the outdoor heritage label's Europe flagship, marking its first venture outside of Iceland and Denmark.

Slated to open in the second week of September, the 3,500 sq ft store is situated on Regent Street with a further access point via Soho’s Glasshouse Street.

It will showcase technical outerwear, apparel and accessories from its men’s and women’s collections while there will also be space for a showroom, community gatherings and workshops on the lower floor.

Berlin-based architect Gonzalez Haase has been appointed to “bring 66°North’s Icelandic DNA to life” through a design that "captures the interplay between Iceland as a constant and static island, with the myriad shades of grey found in the forever changing weather for which it is renowned". 

The materials used on the shop floor are mainly earth-based within a natural  colour scheme with the walls clad in natural British clay. Kira Sciberras, Architect/Project Manager at Gonzalez Haase, said: “The existing floor plan is already quite complex on its own with no straight walls and all different kinds of columns, reminiscent of a forest. The grey clay walls are monumental and simple, they can be higher and lower depending on their position carefully allowing or obstructing fields of view. They create different perspectives and atmospheres.”

CEO Helgi Oskarsson said: '' We opened our first store outside of Iceland seven years ago in Copenhagen. Ever since then, we’ve been waiting for the right moment to open a London store. Now, we are ready. We chose the site on 100 Regent Street and 33A Glasshouse Street for two reasons. First, it’s one of the busiest shopping streets in all of London. Second, the space at this particular address was capable of fitting our vision. London will be our flagship store for all of Europe... which allows us to showcase the 66°North collection nearly in its entirety and tell the brand’s story alongside it."

Oskarsson also said 2022 is shaping up to be a busy year for it after it became the first Icelandic brand to become B-Corp certified in April, in recognition of its social and environmental performance. Collaborations with German tent manufacturer, Heimplanet, and French cycling brand Café du Cycliste were joined by the announcement of a three-year partnership with UN Women Iceland who are working to support and create job opportunities for refugees fleeing war-torn countries in the Middle East.