Thoroughbred Owner and Breeder Magazine
Trevor Pickett’s inimitable style and eye for detail takes the brand into its next 30 years.
In an age where goods are increasingly mass produced, ordered online and delivered in fairly unprepossessing packaging, there remains something undeniably special about a retail experience that lures, entices and engages you – doubly so when the goods in question are so exquisitely crafted and covetable.
This is just part of what makes Pickett with its shops in both chelsea and Mayfair, so special. It’s not that the luxury leather goods brand doesn’t have an online presence (it does) but the thrilling journey it takes you on when you enter one of its shops is well worth getting away from your laptop for. More emporium than mere retail space, you voyage through a collection of rooms in the Burlington Gardens flagships, spread over three floors, each room is curated to showcase the products alongside an eclectic collection of furniture and art. A seemingly effortless mix of texture, colour and fabric all combine to give the sense of being more feasibly in luxurious residence than a store.
The location also incorporates an exhibition space; here you’ll find the offerings of synergetic designers, artists, galleries and retailers. Intimate and welcoming, it’s not just about retail: opportunities for discovery and discussion abound.
“All the elements of our retail experience are focused on identifying with whoever walks through our door, remaining authentic in our service and quality of product.” Trevor Pickett explains. ‘Our stores echo the Pickett culture, providing unsurpassable service in an inviting environment, where people are guided through magical rooms in discovery, reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland.”
Trevor Pickett began working in luxury retail at a leather company in Burlington Arcade when he was just 16; within eight years, he had bought and renamed the business, branding it, simply ‘Pickett’. It’s with immense pride that all of Pickett’s leather goods are sourced and crafted in the UK, in small, artisanal ateliers and by individual craftsmen – a celebration of provenance and quality that Pickett himself insists upon. Indeed, his passion for bespoke and British-made goods was likely directly influenced bu his father, whose bike shop, at which the teenaged Trevor assisted, focussed almost exclusively on British bikes and parts.
In a brand where the man is so closely connected with the goods – Trevor is frequently to be seen fronting his stored, and delights in sharing his passion for the products with visitors and clients – its worth noting, too, that Trevor himself is entirely the quintessential British man, eccentricities and all. Seeing himself more as an editor than a designer, Trevor’s eye for style and design informs every one of the pieces in the range, as well as the exotic goods – pashminas, Kilim slippers and jewellery – sourced from further afield.
This interaction with the public led Trevor, early on, to discern his customers’ desire for variety and choice. The Bespoke Service, which is now offered at the Leather Library in Burlington Gardens has become an integral part of the Pickett identity, with clients able to browse a back catalogue of leathers never previously on display, with the final product completely unique to their specifications.
“I am often asked what luxury is, it is having the ability to create something utterly and completely yours that embodies your style and spirit,” says Trevor. “It is not about money or opulence, it is individuality and self-confidence, which no one else can replicate. That is what we strive to give at Pickett, especially in a world where services like this are diminishing.’
This year marks Pickett 30-year anniversary; in celebration, Trevor has launched his Picket Prive collection, an exclusive collection of Trevor’s personal picks from Paris – including a bejewelled cuff bracelet and ostrich leg card cases- with only one piece of each item available to purchase. Acknowledging that brands birth year, a new bespoke collection will also be released in Burgundy – the strongest selling of the mis-eighties – in a variety of luxury leathers, with classic Pickett designs reimagined for our times.