Caught in the Crossfire

Never rains but it pours- London sees not one but two new launches this week. Last night (Thursday) saw the opening of the new WESC shop in London’s Carnaby Street along with the new Slam City Skates concession downstairs.

Carnaby Street was once the epicentre of fashionable London and after years of neglect it is once again resurgent as high rents in Covent Garden and elsewhere have seen such players as Howies, Eastpak and Vans set up shop here bringing a return to the bohemian vibe and- last night at least- the unmistakeable whiff of Illegal Regals being puffed on the street.

In attendance for the free Tiger beer and vodka/ oranges were the London contingent of the Blueprint squad, almost all the Palace Waywards and their respective better halves, party in a bottle Scott ‘Horsey’ Walker, Pointer footwear chaps Gareth Skewis and Greg Finch and a healthy smattering of London’s fashion/ style press. The shop itself is a 3- storey affair which does more with the space than WE’s previous venue which kind of always seemed half empty.

Former Etnies strongman Pete Turvey tillied the ship throughout the evening and made sure nothing got broken despite the best efforts of the stumblebums who made free with purloining the free drink as soon as the poor girl dishing it out abandoned all hope and fled. Many thanks for having us down and if you are passing do stop in- skateshop is in the basement!

Nike’s exhibition and subsequent collaborative shoe launch with Dutch skate mag Fluff opens Saturday, 10.30 on Bateman’s Row.