Amazon Wraps Up Coats For Winter
With the invite to Amazon headquarters looming, an event to check out their AW14 coat edit, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Amazon is a retailer of everything, not just fashion. Somewhere I’d usually head for unusual Christmas presents or bargain CDs or DVDs, so I wasn’t sure they’d have the fashion nous to select the best key pieces for the season. But I was wrong.
As I walked into the afternoon soirée in a posh building on the Strand, I was greeted by some seriously well dressed ladies and rails of glorious coats.
With coats being my latest obsession, I knew I’d be a tough audience from the off, but I was won over when I saw the array of outerwear in front of me.
From pastel pinks and plenty of on-trend blue hues, that was the first box ticked. Moving on from there though, they had plenty of classics – from camel to checked and simple white, black and grey colours. I was pleased they had opted for simple pieces too. Choosing a coat isn’t always about what’s on trend here and now, it’s often just as great to pick a piece that will see you through season after season and they had certainly covered both. And it wasn’t all just about the long trenches and oversized numbers either, there were plenty of parkas and shorter styles to feast your eyes on.
And as I browsed the selection, I had the chance to meet the curator of the rails – Marie Davies, who explained she had tried to choose an array of styles, colours and shapes that fit the season on a variety of budgets to suit all customers. Not wanting to isolate those on lower budgets, she ensured a lot of the collection was affordable without looking cheap.
‘Look out for wrap coats, tactile textures and stylish slim and tailored classics, as well as over-sized styles which offer room for essential winter layering…’ Marie said, giving us an insight into the selection.
The only thing I picked up on was how within seconds I could pull out all the high-end pieces. From French Connection to Hoss Intropia and Maison Scotch – the more expensive numbers stood out a mile. The pure white wool piece from Hoss Intropia was like being wrapped up in a fluffy cloud and it was hard to prize myself away. And the pale blue and grey French Connection pick had caught my eye from the off. With its oversized frame and 3/4 sleeves, I knew I’d be snapping it up. But that’s not to say the team hadn’t picked some pretty high street numbers too – but when sitting on a rail together, the difference in quality is more acutely noticeable.
With over 400 styles for men and women available at a click of a button, it’s hard not to be keen on Amazon’s coat edit. They’ve scouted the stores for you, hand-selected the best styles, saving you a lot of time and leg-work. They’ve even broken it all down. You can filter by colour, material, brand and shape, while videos and images explain the exact shape and fit of your chosen piece so that there’ll be no nasty surprises when the postman comes knocking. And what’s even better is, it’s free delivery and returns – you can’t ask for more than that.
You might, like us, think Amazon isn’t top of the list for fashion retailers, but don’t judge a book and all that…
The Amazon team have redesigned their fashion pages and we’re pretty sure you can expect a lot more from them in the coming months. They’re already on the British Fashion Council and they’re due to be launching a collection with Osman.
See more at www.amazon.co.uk/coats
