When we enter Egg, an extraordinary shop on the site of a 19th C dairy, still with original tiles and cobbled floor, it is hard to believe that we are in the heart of buzzing Knightsbridge.

The place is the brainchild of genial Maureen Doherty, who has some impressive fashion credentials, in the eighties, opening and running Issey Miyake store on the nearly Sloane Street, (with whom she still works occasionally). Maureen is a conjurer: she drapes, ties and knots cloths or garments, this way or the other, so that most pieces are becoming wonderfully versatile, besides being comfortable and elegant; Maureen also likes things that age and wash well. The pieces are predominantly designed in Italy, overseen by Maureen, and crafted in India and China. On her travels Maureen gathers wonderful adornments, when I last visited, the latest booties were silver Miao (miautso) headdresses, a tribe from south west China, and pins of various size and shapes to hold and secure skirts or shawls. Maureen is sublimely indifferent to trends and she believed that tribal adornments shouldn’t be treated as too precious to be framed and displayed, these should be brought to life and should be worn, as they were originally intended. Egg signature fusion style mixes luxurious pewter-coloured taffetas dresses with tribal headdresses, for example, the combination is striking and beguiling.

Maureen offer a window of opportunity to up-and-coming designers and craft people, amidst quilted jacket and beaten silver necklets are one of a kind ceramic vessels or glass bowls. The shopping experience is brought one step further, as we are offered tea upstairs, sitting on the floor oriental-style; presently the room’s ceiling is decorated with hundreds of filmy hand-made paper banners from Mexico, gently swaying with the circulating air. On sunny days we sit outside on weathered garden chairs and table set on the pavement, which is very fitting as the narrow street had a kind of rural atmosphere.

Although Maureen hates anything pretentious, Egg has a loyal following from luminaries such as Donna Karan, Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons, Joseph Ettedgui, of the Joseph shops, and has been patronised by Nicole Kidman, Maggie Smith, to name a few. Maureen is an eccentric and a styling visionary, visiting Egg is a truly individual experience, and it is one of fashion best kept secret… and we love secrets, don’t we!

EGG
36 Kinnerton Street, SW1
020 7235 9315
tuesday - saturday 10.am - 6.pm

This entry was posted on Monday, December 11th, 2006 at 3:42 pm and is filed under News, Buy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.