Inside 5 Carlos Place, Matchesfashion.com's ultimate luxury retail destination

Opposite the Duke of Westminster’s magically misty plane trees, and, in, what is, the epicentre of moneyed fashion in London, 5 Carlos Place already feels established. The handsome red brick, late Victorian townhouse curves as it welcome you into its exclusive enclave and sits at the entrance of Mayfair’s most exclusive shopping area.

This is Matchesfashion.com's all singing, all dancing townhouse. It’s part retail, part cafe, part personal shopping, part experiential, part showcase, part exhibition space, but totally the buzzy physical heart of the online phenomenon Matchesfashion.com has become.

The entrance to 5 Carlos Place

Matchesfashion.com previously had a townhouse in Marylebone, but it was more an exclusive personal shopping concept with no retail. That has now closed. The majority of its stores were always in the periphery of London in wealthy neighbourhoods, while 5 Carlos Place is slap, bang in the middle of the middle and illustrates how far Matchesfashion.com has come.

While the signage outside is discreet, it’s the amount of people coming and going that will draw your attention. Not exactly something this area is used to - high footfall - it will definitely ripple out to the adjacent retailers and give that energy these types of areas often lack.

The five-story townhouse has been redesigned by architect Philip Joseph, partner of fashion designer Erdem Moralioglu, while retaining many original features like the plaster ceilings and fire places. The first two floors are retail. More a showroom than a traditional store, it is currently showcasing an exclusive partnership with Prada - bananas and all! But, it’s not all big budget names, the next designer to have the space is Marine Serre.

Prada at 5 Carlos Place

The items are displayed with QR codes next to them so you can simply link to the appropriate page and then order. Everything can be sent to the townhouse within 90 minutes or get sent to your home address. If Matchesfashion.com prices are a little out of your league, they currently have a Prada X Matchesfashion.com vending machine dispensing matches, coloured markers and the like. This space will change every two weeks, which is really the speed of online being reflected in physical retail.

The ground floor leads out to a garden at the back with a spacious patio surrounded with Australian tree ferns, lush planting and the higgledy-piggledy backs of this row of London townhouses and all the architectural quirks many years of alterations have produced.

The patio and garden

Behind glossy, lipstick red doors and woodwork, two further floors house private shopping suites. These can be booked online and you can have items sent to be there waiting for you to try on when you arrive. The changing rooms - more like mini-suites - can be customised to the customers' Spotify accounts and look even more comfortable than the luxurious Connaught hotel opposite.

Private shopping suite

Upstairs in the attic is the café area and with its roof window feels like a nursery space where Mary Poppins would be caring for the children. This is the most flexible floor and will host talks and different catering concepts plus the home of matchesfashion.com's new broadcasting suite and podcast centre.

The current café is Marchesi, the Prada-owned patisserie brand, to tie in with the retail downstairs. The next takeover is the Holiday Café followed by the vegan Maisie Café both from Paris.

Highlights from the ‘What’s On’ event schedule for September and October - you can apply for the tickets online - include Theresa Wayman in an acoustic set, Mario Sorrenti book launch, Sarah Mower in conversation with Richard Quinn, a supper club with Australian chef Skye Gyngell and a Phillips preview of their ‘London Design’ auction.

The top floor cafe area

The first impression of 5 Carlos Place is that it’s busy. Not just with people, but events and the energy of hosting so many talks, dining concepts and introducing new designers.

This is retail as inclusive members club and feels much livelier than their previous space. I’d be surprised if they can sustain this speed of turnover of retail spaces and events, but it’s exciting to see so much on the agenda.

This feels like online really spilling out into physical retail and understanding the reasons stylish people leave the house. They want to learn and experience as well as shop. London is the home of matchesfashion.com and it will be interesting to see whether this idea could be rolled out to other major centres like New York or Hong Kong.

This has been really well done, is in a great location and encapsulates the energy of a retailer really enjoying its standing in the luxury e-commerce sphere. I can’t wait to return and that’s exactly the point.