REINTRODUCING MENSWEAR

Spread across two floors, Voisins new menswear department is not only a space to shop but a space designed to inspire your individual style. Sophie Wilkinson caught up with Bruno, Menswear Floor Manager, to find out more about the expansion.

Hi Bruno, what inspired the new menswear department?

We noticed there was a gap in the Jersey market for a smart-casual, trend-conscious menswear customer and feel we’re now catering to this with our selection of new brands on the 1st Floor. We’ve added a dedicated men’s shoe offering to the 1st floor too and moved our menswear concession brands such as Joules and White stuff into the menswear Ground Floor space making the department a one-stop menswear destination. The space itself has a luxury industrial style, with pops of bright yellow and lots of texture to really make the clothes stand out.

Who do you see shopping in Voisins?

Our extensive range of brands means we have a really mixed menswear customer. The ground floor brands such as Superdry, Diesel and Replay cater to our young, trendy but price-conscious customer. We also have Timberland, HKT by Hackett, Joules and White Stuff for a casual look, these brands are popular with family guys who prefer to relax and dress down on the weekend. The new brands on the 1st Floor such as Oliver Spencer, Baldessarini, HUGO by Hugo Boss, as well as some of the old favourites including Reiss are designed for a young professional. We see lots of menswear customers adapting their shopping habits to suit the ‘dressdown’ or ‘dress for your day’ approach that many finance and law firms are taking – meaning workwear isn’t always a suit, shirt and tie. We cater for all of that with a great range of smart-casual that could be worn from your desk straight out for dinner!

Are you noticing any particular trends for the summer?

Yes! Floral shirts are in, I’m not talking the gaudy Hawaiian style, but a statement print shirt is definitely trending this summer. We’ve got a great selection from HUGO by Hugo Boss, Oliver Spencer, Simon Carter, Baldessarini and many more. I’m also noticing a pastel trend, which is very obvious in the collections we have from Calvin Klein and HKT by Hackett. Pastels are a great way to add a bit of colour to your wardrobe. Personally, I have been buying a lot from the new HUGO range. I find the clothes very versatile, so I can mix and match for a smart-casual look.

Sustainability in the fashion industry has been a huge topic recently, how is this reflected in store?

Yes, this is a very important topic and as a business, we are making a conscious effort to push our brands to be more transparent when it comes to sustainability. As a retailer, we are not involved in the manufacturing process, so our responsibility is to make sure we support brands that prioritise this. New brand Selected Homme has a strong stance on sustainability, which was a key driver in us acquiring them for our new menswear department. They say, ‘With craftsmanship at the heart of everything we do, using more sustainable fibres is a natural part of developing and delivering our curated collections. To us, sustainability isn’t merely an add-on. It’s not a capsule collection, but something that permeates every collection. Every initiative. We strive for every collection to be more sustainable than the last. This is to underline the responsibility we take for our future environmental footprint.’

We’re also awaiting the Selected Femme collection arriving in our womenswear department this summer.

What has the response been like since launching?

We have been a bit unlucky that our launch landed almost exactly at the same time as the COVID-19 pandemic and lock-down. All of our plans for launch parties and a big campaign to promote the department opening have been delayed, as well as shop-fits and stock being a bit all over the place. Having said that, since reopening we are seeing growth every week as people are venturing out and awareness of the new department is growing. With lots of people working from home, we have seen a shift not only in purchase behaviour but also a drop in footfall. Loungewear has been flying off the shelves, and during the hot weather we had recently swimwear and shorts did well. But smart-casual collections are suffering, with people not going into the office as much and not going out for dinners or nights out. But we’re adapting. We have a great range of brands and products and we know people will love it once life gets back to a bit more normality. 

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