London, Manchester & Birmingham; and worldwide at Selfridges.com SEPTEMBER 2021.

Selfridges and fashion designer, artist, musician, brand founder, entrepreneur and activist, Jaden Smith will begin a long-term partnership this September.  The project, which will touch product, performance, and new ideas across every Selfridges store, is founded in friendship, shared values of creativity, innovation and sustainability.

Through a relationship that will evolve in real-time, Selfridges builds on a rich heritage of genuine friendships – which have resulted in some of the most electrifying and unexpected moments in modern retail.  From a carpark rave with the master Rick Owens to A$AP Rocky’s NYC Bodega, the Mothership by visionary Dame Pat McGrath, a life drawing class with Kim Kardashian and Michele Lamy’s iconic boxing ring – Selfridges’ friends have helped to define the zeitgeist moments that shift what shopping means to people.

For part one of this unique partnership, Selfridges will share Jaden’s point of view via curated products and experiences in London, Manchester, Birmingham, and at Selfridges.com. Three exclusive shop-in-shop concepts will open – from brands where Jaden holds creative director, brand ambassador and founder roles: at fashion brand MSFTSrep, and New Balance (spotlighting the vegan-friendly New Balance Jaden Smith Vision Racer collection). Each will celebrate creativity and innovation as a means of self-expression and a way to inspire positive change.

“Jaden’s energy and his community-focused way of thinking has inspired new ways for us to connect with visitors to Selfridges. Together, we are exploring creativity through the lens of innovative production processes and new models. I’m so proud to welcome Jaden to the Selfridges family, and to see what can be achieved when friends come together.” says Sebastian Manes, Selfridges Executive Buying Director.

On the 7th of June 2021, More Joy is taking over the Atrium Space 2 at Selfridges Oxford Street.

During the 4-week pop up customers can shop the debut More Joy x Le Specs sunglasses collaboration, the exclusive More Joy Mantra Collection, and an edit of Christopher’s favourite tomes in the Sex Book Store.

Emblazoned with the ‘Be open to the Joy you deserve’ mantra, the space and collection promote the realisation of higher ideals through positive affirmation.

The More Joy logo first appeared on the Christopher Kane AW19 runway. As the year progressed, the brother and sister duo found the logo took on a deeper, more personal meaning becoming a daily mantra, a talisman for hope and good karma; a message worth sharing.

More Joy by Christopher Kane developed into the brand’s second line with the intent to offer a curation of accessible, well-designed products for the everyday.

The pop up will be replicated at Selfridges Manchester (Exchange & Trafford) and Selfridges Birmingham.

To mark the exclusive UK launch of the unisex jewellery brand, we meet its founders, Anwar Hadid and Yoni Laham

Seven years ago, model Anwar Hadid and musician Yoni Laham met through family friends in LA. After treading their own individual paths in fashion and music, the pair decided to join forces, launching Martyre in 2018. “We had known each other for a while and always knew we wanted to create together,” says Laham. “Jewellery felt like the right place to start because of its timelessness, and we fell in love with the industry once we started.” As an artist, Laham (known to the music world as BRIDGE) is no stranger to creative collaborations, while Hadid grew up surrounded by the fashion industry as the brother of two of the world’s most famous supermodels, Gigi and Bella. It’s no surprise that, when the pair began exploring creative avenues together, a shared passion for accessories began to take shape.

To celebrate the exclusive UK launch at Selfridges of the pair’s timeless jewellery designs – worn by the likes of Dua Lipa, Zayn Malik and Kaia Gerber – we caught up with the childhood friends turned business partners to discuss genderless jewellery, their love of London and their support for Centrepoint, the UK’s leading youth homelessness charity.

ANWAR HADID, Co-Founder and Creative Director

“I have always loved jewellery and the value that it holds. When I was growing up, many of my peers were trying their hand in the clothing industry, but no one ventured into jewellery. From a young age, I have always pushed myself to journey through new territories,” says Hadid, who loves how jewellery allows people to express their individuality. “I grew up wearing hoodies for their fit and material, not because they were classified as men’s or women’s – unisex jewellery reflects this new way of thinking and letting people decide for themselves without any judgement.”

From sculpted cherubs to the label’s slogan, ‘Pray for Us’, Martyre plays with motifs centred around faith. The brand’s namesake The Martyre necklace is Hadid’s personal favourite. “To me, the clasped hands represent unity and friendship, which I believe are the building blocks for success and collaboration,” he says. Fifty percent of the proceeds from every purchase via Selfridges of the brand’s The Martyre necklace will be donated to the youth homelessness charity Centrepoint. “With everything I create, I always want to tie it back to helping people. We are in a fortunate position to shine light on some amazing foundations and organisations whose sole purpose is to impact the lives of others. Anytime we can bring an awareness to such important causes, we have the responsibility to do so,” says Hadid.

YONI LAHAM (aka BRIDGE), Co-Founder and CEO

“We’re here to make pieces you feel confident in, and as long as you’re enjoying wearing them, we’re happy. Style is style, it doesn’t need to be broken up by gender,” says musician Laham of the pair’s decision to launch a unisex jewellery brand. How has his career as a musician informed his work in the fashion world? “When you make music, you draw inspiration from a pure place, and I think that transcends into the jewellery. The process of making an album and making a product feels similar, in the sense that you throw paint at the canvas and then keep narrowing it down to what you love. You bring a sketch to life, layer by layer, until it’s out in the world, and it’s the same with an album,” says Laham, who flexes his creative muscles by working on both the design and business sides of the brand. “Our slogan, ‘Pray for Us’, is very significant to me – it embraces praying for the people you love, those that need love, and throwing what matters to you most into the universe.”

THE MARTYRE NECKLACE

In support of youth homelessness charity Centrepoint

Fifty per cent of the proceeds from every order of the brand’s namesake The Martyre necklace purchased in-store or online at Selfridges will be donated to the London-based youth homelessness charity Centrepoint. The design features a lettered Martyre pendant at the front and fastens with two clasped hands.

“The clasped hands represent unity and friendship, which I believe are the building blocks for success and collaboration.” 
– Anwar Hadid

“Our signature clasped hands stand out above all else for me. We are stronger together. We are weaker divided.” – Yoni Laham

This London Fashion Week, Bethany Williams will present her gender-neutral capsule coat collection, exclusively for Selfridges.

As with every collection and project Bethany works on, the social and environmental issues go hand in hand.

“This particular project was inspired by our ongoing work with The Magpie Project, a charity that supports women and children under five in temporary, unsuitable or no accommodation. The Women’s Institute community creates a personal blanket for every baby born into the Magpie Family. A blanket is so much more than a piece of fabric, it is a feeling of comfort and shelter and I wanted that feeling to be at the heart of this capsule collection.” – Bethany Williams

Drawing on her inspiration, the collection saw Bethany dive into the historical heritage of vintage and antique wool blankets from across the UK. All the blankets are carefully sourced from vintage sellers, whether that’s Antiques Markets or car boot sales. Steeped in history, each blanket sourced tells a story from the textile and weaving techniques to the county, town
or village it was made in. One of her favourite pieces sourced for the collection was found on a pitch-black frosty morning at Sunbury Antiques Market at Kempton Racecourse. With her phone touch as her only source of light, she came across a rare and usually very expensive Welsh, patterned wool blanket with brightly coloured pink and orange patches.

With this collection, the story continues, as each blanket is given a new lease of life through Bethany’s artistic vision and mastering of design-led upcycling techniques, which created this capsule collection. Shapes for the details on each garment come from historical research into childrenswear that she explored with the V&A Museum of Childhood. The complimentary
colour palettes, slightly oversized fit and skilful patchwork techniques all create a unique, bespoke-feel to each garment.

Handcrafted in London, the nine upcycled blanket coats are available in three different jacket styles. Each garment is conceptualised by allocating a specific blanket to each style of jacket based on its weight, thickness and colour. The outer material is the blanket wool for optimal insulation with a 100% organic cotton lining, sourced from Wales.

This collection is part of Selfridges sustainability initiative, Project Earth, committed to putting sustainability in the heart of the business and reinventing the way we shop.

“We are so thrilled to be continuing our partnership with Bethany Williams. Bethany joined the Selfridges menswear edit as part of our Bright New Things programme, and we are so excited to now be launching this collection straight from her LFW presentation. She was a clear choice
to be included as one of our key Project Earth partners due to her innovative approach to sustainable and socially conscious work – Jack Cassidy, Head of Menswear at Selfridges.