Last weekend, my friend and I celebrated coming out of lockdown
2.0 with a spot of window shopping and a coffee. As a treat, we headed to the FENDI
Caffé in Selfridges for a fancy coffee, biscotti, and a much-needed chin wag. When
you’ve been in lockdown for the best part of a year, going out for coffee
becomes an event. I heard good things about the FENDI Café in Harrods so when
my friend suggested popping to the newest FENDI Caffé in Selfridges, it was a
no-brainer.
The fashion branded pop up (previously The Fount), boasts a 14-seat champagne bar within the Selfridges accessories hall, and is inspired by the new FENDI ROMA holiday collection. The Caffe décor displays the powder pink and signature FENDI yellow classic colour palette, along with an exclusive curated menu. The FENDI Caffe menu offers custom cocktails and bites, along with the FF logo branded on ice cubes, champagne flutes, and personalised cappuccinos.
As gorgeous as the aesthetics are, this experience is a ‘one and done’ scenario. Once you’ve seen it, had your overpriced coffee or cocktail and taken a few snaps, you’re done. The fashion branded pop-up concept isn’t unprecedented (you know I’m going to use the most popular word of 2020 wherever I can), but I do think FENDI have done it beautifully. I also think it’s a clever way for luxury brands to engage with customers in an exclusive but accessible, offering an experience for a ‘limited’ period. The social media coverage from this pop-up will probably provide huge online engagement meaning more eyeballs on the brand, and then footfall into this Selfridges store. This could then lead to people coming in to experience the café for a drink, and then end up buying a new bag or accessory. Very cleverly done. Unfortunately, I will not be one of the customers they convert at this point. My coffee was my treat. The FENDI CAFFE Selfridges will be open until January 2021.