Born in the USA
American fashion labels dominate the high street, but now it's time to welcome the country's homewares into our homes, says Trish Lorenz
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J Crew, the latest US-based brand to head to Britain, will open a store on London's Regent Street later this year. It joins a swathe of American fashion retailers making the UK their home – Banana Republic, Anthropologie, Abercrombie and Fitch and Forever21 have all also held their debuts in the UK in the last few years.
But unlike fashion, American homeware and product design remains a rarity on this side of the Atlantic, a gap in the market that Fate London, a boutique website that launched this month, is hoping to fill.
The site, fatelondon.com, sells a selection of interiors products with a particular focus on US designers.
"In Europe and the UK, products tend to have clean lines and an architectural feel. We like the raw, natural quality of American design," the Fate London founder Louise Bliss says.
"Designers there tend to focus on mastering traditional craft. It's about creating investment pieces rather than seasonal updates. The products have weight and texture; when you hold them you know you'll keep them for a lifetime." Some of the best products on the site include the raw brass bottle opener by Brooklyn-based Fort Standard, Pendleton's woollen blankets inspired by Native American geometrics and Anna Design's striped candles.
Other American designers to look out for in the UK include Bec Brittain, whose geometric lighting is available at SCP (scp.co.uk); Stephanie Housley's Coral and Tusk textiles (try couvertureandthegarbstore.com) and Araya Jensen's wooden Wind & Willow Home collection (also at couvertureandthegarbstore.com).
And if that has whet your tastebuds for more, some US-based designers don't have British stockists but do sell direct online and ship to the UK. Iacoli & McAllister (iacolimcallister.com) creates beautiful furniture and lighting using marble, brass and wood and Workstead (workstead.com) designs striking industrial lighting. For smaller pieces try Mociun (store.mociun.com) and Love Adorned (loveadorned.com).
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