Selfridges 100th Anniversary

Selfridges on London’s Oxford Street observes it’s 100 Year Anniversary this year with celebrations beginning in May and continuing throughout the summer. The centenary gives the iconic store an opportunity to honour it’s amazing heritage, celebrate the present and look to the future.

The Yellow Festival

During May there will be a programme of quirky and unexpected entertainment events hosted by a specially-formed troupe, ‘The Selfridgettes‘.  Events include unique fashion shows, live music and bingo.

During the Yellow Festival, exclusive products will be launched – all designer collaborations featuring an element of the iconic Selfridges pantone Yellow colour. From an avant-garde yellow Giles Deacon dress to a pair of classic Converse shoes in yellow (seen above), to a Paul Smith bag replicating the front of the Oxford Street building.
100 Years of Selfridges

The store’s dedicated arts and entertainment space, the Ultralounge on the lower ground floor, will be home to a fascinating look at Selfridges from 1909 to the present day.  Presented with great visual impact, there will be rare archive images of the earliest days, a sculpture of carrier bags from all the decades, The Golden Book signed by authors launching their books at Selfridges – such as Aldous Huxley, Enid Blyton and Joanna Trollope – and the glass table on which visiting celebrities, including Elizabeth Taylor and Kylie Minogue, signed their names with a diamond-tipped pen.

There will also be an interactive area for kids to contribute to a large-scale artwork to be shown in the Ultralounge throughout the summer.  The exhibition is being curated by Lindy Woodhead, author of “Shopping, Seduction and Mr Selfridge” – it will be designed and presented by the Selfridge’s creative team.

World-famous windows

Selfridges defined the concept of creative window-dressing in the early 1900s and has been a leader in the art ever since.

Today’s award-winning team will stage two schemes to celebrate the centenary.  The first, running from May to mid-June, will feature windows from past decades – from a 1920s boudoir to the 1930s “great kick off” football display – all re-created with a modern twist.

The second scheme, running from July to the end of August, will be a whimsical exploration of ideas for future modes of living.

The Oxford Street canopy

As well as being beneath the famous “Queen of Time” sculpture installed in 1931, the canopy over the main Oxford Street entrance to the store has been home to many remarkable installations – from a replica of the Christ the Redeemer sculpture (as part of Brasil 40 degrees in 2004) to a huge eyeball created by Dadadandy in 2006 for Selfridges celebration of surrealism.

From 1 May, the words “Open To The World Since 1909” will be emblazoned in giant neon on the canopy.  The phrase is inspired by a press advertisement that appeared on the opening day, Monday 15 March 1909.

Converse for Selfridges limited edition trainers-