Fashion Burglars

[Ariadne Grant]

There is been a wave of fashion robberies in London, burglars now have fashion sense??


London boutique thieves target FrostFrench store

What the heck is going on right now? First it was Christopher Kane, then Luella, last week it was Marc Jacobs and now the new FrostFrench store (owned by Sadie Frost and Jemima French) has been hit by a gang of thieves who seem to have a annoying fixation with nicking designer fashion.

The Islington store, which opened just two weeks ago during London Fashion Week, was broken into yesterday and around £10,000 worth of stock was stolen. "Sadie and Jemima are upset but will not let it get them down. They have got good business heads on them and know it's not the end of the world," said Leigh Anne Radbourne, assistant manager of the store.

"Luckily all our staff are okay and the shop will be back to normal as soon as possible. We’ve relocated stock from our new website to replenish the stolen items, ensuring customers won't be affected by this and there will be minimal interruption," added Frostfrench managing director, Sharon O'Connor.

To all you fashionable thieves out there - if you think that stealing is the way to go to get your grubby mitts on some designer threads, then enough already! Save your money or throw it all on the credit card, just like the rest of us. Kimberley Foster... fighter against fashion crime.


source: catwalkqueen.tv

 

[Ariadne Grant]

Breaking News: Christopher Kane robbed of his collection ahead of London Fashion Week

Dreadful news today as it was revealed to British Vogue this morning that Christopher Kane's East End studio was broken into over the weekend and 23 pieces of his collection were stolen along with a laptop.

Kane is due to appear at London Fashion Week in one week's time but hopes to get the collection back together in time for the show.

"Naturally I am devastated that this has happened," Kane told Vogue. "We are all shaken by the break in and the fact that someone has invaded my private work space and taken precious show pieces so close to fashion week, although I do realise it could have been a lot worse."

source: Catwalkqueen.tv

 

[Ariadne Grant]

Ram raiding is the latest 80s revival on London's fashion scene!

London’s fearless fashion burglars have been at it yet again as just after midnight on Wednesday night, Sonia Rykiel’s store on Brook Street was the latest target of London’s smash and grab, moped gang.
The store is doors away from Luella Bartley’s shop which was also raided earlier this month, and was no doubt packed full of goodies ready for the pre Christmas shopping rush. The list of stores to be hit in a matter of months is growing and now reads like a roll call from the international fashion week shows. Christopher Kane, Frost French, Anya Hindmarch and Marc Jacobs have all been hit, and as Hindmarch herself said last week “you’re no one in London till you’ve been ram raided!”
The gang are clearly after easily saleable and highly sought after designer bags and accessories, so we can’t help wonder who might be next on Brook Street, which is also home to Moschino, and just a stone's throw from Stella McCartney and Matthew Williamson. Although, the gang do seem to have become a little careless and this time clumsily dropped a bag in their haste to get away, hopefully leaving the British police with some fingerprints that could soon put an end to their ram raiding plans.
By Melissa Dick
Posted 25th October 2007

source: elleuk.com

 

[Ariadne Grant]

Assault & Baggery
Anya Hindmarch's London store is latest in string of robberies
10/16/2007 4:45:00 PM
(LONDON) The recent rash of robberies hitting London's high-end boutiques has become somewhat of an epidemic. This morning, Anya Hindmarch was the latest designer to fall victim. A gang of thieves raided Hindmarch's Ledbury Road store in the early morning hours, making off with 35 of the designer's pricy bags, including the Ebury and Lautner styles. The company estimates that around £20,000 worth of merchandise was taken. The incident at Hindmarch's store is just the latest of a string of premeditated assaults on London's luxury labels, which have included Marc Jacobs, Roger Vivier, Luella, FrostFrench, Ralph Lauren, cashmere maker Brora, and Christopher Kane's studio.

www.fashionweekdaily.com

 

[Priestess]

There has been a lot of this lately. We had somebody ram-raid the Sass and Bide store in Australia a year or so ago. I think the Louis Vuitton store was also ram-raided. I think that thieves recognise the value of designer gear these days. They can make a lot of money out of the designer items and the security is than that of say, a jewellery store.

 

[Priestess]

It was too late for me to edit my post, but I was going to add was-

I remember reading some about a Victoria's Secret store also being robbed recently. They stole $20 000 worth of underwear.

 

[songbirdsel]

atleast some of them have good taste...

 

[cric-croc]

lol!

 

[mellowdrama]

Insurance pays better than an end-of-season clearance sale.

 

[Ariadne Grant]

Thank you Priestess for the info on Australia, does anybody knows if this is happening anywhere else? It seems out of control in London!!



Moped gang raids top London fashion stores


· Handbags and cashmere seized in smash and grabs
· Sledgehammer used to break into boutiques

Vikram Dodd
Wednesday September 26, 2007
The Guardian

A gang on mopeds raided the store of leading British designer Luella Bartley early yesterday morning, smashing their way in with a sledgehammer before speeding off with more than £10,000 worth of luxury handbags.
Minutes earlier, the gang had targeted Brora, a luxury cashmere store, escaping with thousands of pounds worth of rugs and sweaters.

Scotland Yard believe the raids are linked and are keeping an open mind as to whether they are connected to other similar robberies on upmarket boutiques.


Around 20 handbags were stolen from the Luella Bartley store in Mayfair, London, which only opened last week.
About 10 minutes earlier the thieves had seized cashmere rugs and sweaters from Brora on Marylebone High Street, stuffing them into a white holdall.

The raiders are described as being in their late teens or early 20s, wearing dark clothing, and used one grey and one black coloured bike, with two people on board each one.

The locations of the stores are well covered by CCTV cameras, but the smash and grab raiders wore crash helmets with their visors down to try to avoid detection and had blacked out their bikes' licence plates.

Detective Chief Inspector Martin Johnson, who is heading the investigation, said: "This is something that happens infrequently across the West End; we'd be foolish not to link them, based on the method employed."

The tactic of using moped or motorbikes to attack upmarket fashion stores has been used several times by criminals this year. Asprey, the royal jewellers, lost £400,000 in one raid and has been robbed several times. In March necklaces and rings were stolen by a moped gang from Avakian, and in June tens of thousands of pounds worth of shoes were stolen from Roger Vivier.

Mr Johnson said: "In general it's one or two people on motorbikes or mopeds, arriving at a premises that has high-value goods such as jewellery, exclusive fashion houses, attempting to gain entry through force. Once inside they scoop up what they can and flee as quickly as possible.

"Usually they strike in the early morning, when very few people are around."

Luella Bartley had been based in New York and last week put on a show at London fashion week. She is a 34-year-old mother of three and a former fashion journalist.

Upmarket stores are given advice about how to be a s "thief proof" as possible, but remain attractive targets because there is a big black market for their products.

DCI Johnson said: "Unfortunately there's always a market for these goods, high-value goods which are easy to dispose of. "

Police want anyone with information to call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Source: The Guardian

 

[leyla m.]

i personally find this all very strange.
not the fact that it is happening but on the scale it is happening.
i "understand" (not really but in relation) someone robbing either a very commercial high end designer such as marc jacobs or a high end designer of "the moment" such as Christopher Kane. Either of those collection has the potential to be recognisable and you can if you are H&M, Asos.com, New Look make excellent profits.
I would even just about get Sass and Bide if you wanna produce their denim line as it is good and still works on the big scale.

but to go to Frost French???? i mean, com'on!!
or Anya Hindmarch??? what for? to get a better glimpse as to how to copy the "be a bag" which has been done and overdone and possibly the easiest concept to translate into fashion? noen of her bags are worthy a break in my dear thieves .
yup even on the big scale and for the masses!

now just to clarify:
i am totally against these break ins but only trying to understand who would do this if a hint of publicity wasnt involved... frost french anyone
also, london is super protected and with the CITV cameras everywhere and soooo many incidents how can they not at least identify ONE of these mafia?
MAYFAIR?
MARYLEBONE HIGH STREET? (my college and home used ot be right on that street and that is one of the busiest streets..)

ich dont think so mister police officer!

 

[iLoveCouture]

atleast some of them have good taste...

My thoughts exactly. I hope that these shops are at least beefing up security. I have worked a few fashion shows at my old job and all of the clothing was kept under lock and key w/ a security guard nearby at all times. Hopefully law enforcement is stepping their game up to prevent ram raiding.

I felt bad for Kane, losing his collection right before fashion week...that is so terrible to have to rework everything with so little time.

Leyla...maybe those theives wanted the coveted "I'm not a plastic bag" bag from Anya.

 

[Spike413]

Really strange. Are Londoners really that much more obsessed with fashion?

If, as layla suggested, it is to knock it off, there are so many easier and legal ways to do it. I'm kind of hoping that's the explanation cause right now it seems like the only reasonable one.

 

[jennifer~]

i am totally against these break ins but only trying to understand who would do this if a hint of publicity wasnt involved... frost french anyone
also, london is super protected and with the CITV cameras everywhere and soooo many incidents how can they not at least identify ONE of these mafia?
MAYFAIR?
MARYLEBONE HIGH STREET? (my college and home used ot be right on that street and that is one of the busiest streets..)

ich dont think so mister police officer!

I catch you. Well, it's a theory...

 

[Ariadne Grant]

Yes, that was my first tought when I heard about Christophe Kane being robbed one week before his show, I mean I went to the show and it was perfect, like nothing happened and of course he had lots of free publicity, it was on all the mags, newspaper, etc. I´ve always tought that he is very good on those kind of things, like making public he turned down donatella versace´s job offer and all the Anna Wintour buying his whole first collection thing, he is a media genius

 

[lollicandy]

Hmm are you sure at least the Christopher Kane case isn't a 'fashion espionage'??? I mean the laptop top from his studio?

Well I wonder if eBay is going to get flooded with FrostFrench undies now and Luella stuff.

Also, London needs to get its whole robbery/theft crimes under control for real.

 

[leyla m.]

frostfrench is so not in talks right now in the industry. they were only "cool" about 6 seasons ago because sadie managed to get kate moss to her shows.. now i wouldnt want or wouldnt even know what frostfrench is known for. kane, yes. ... and i would recognise the rip offs on the high street... so again i dont quite undertsand

 

[Ariadne Grant]

It's hard to believe that London's pesky fashion bandits, which have been causing boutique workers and owners so much grief, have struck at least 35 times in the past six months! A long list of stores including Marc Jacobs, Luella, Gucci, FrostFrench, plus many more have all been targeted by a group of thieves on motorcycles.


Adding to that list this week was the Ralph Lauren store in Bond Street, which was hit early Monday morning and luxury clothing boutique Press in Primrose Hill. A total of £3,000 worth of handbags were stolen from Press, including a £399 Marc Jacobs's Super K and a Chloé bag worth £900.

While efforts to beef up store security has been enforced by Scotland Yard, it still seems that the lure of expensive labels is far too enticing for the smash n' grabbers. I wonder what the punishment is these days for fashion robbery?

source catwalk queen

 

[KhaoticKharma]

I wish the burglars had taken all of that Christopher Kane collection... the wold would have been a better place without it.

 

[Meg]

I agree totally leyla. Who would smash and grab at Brora? I mean there are more worthwhile shops on marylebone high st. to go for. There's a lovely boutique called Sixty One or something like that just slightly further up the road and they have a LOT more expensive items. And FrostFrench? I don't even know how they afford to open a store as i can't imagine anyone buying anything from them......it does seem quite weird that they haven't caught them yet. These are all well trafficked well heeled areas. i'm sure if someone heard something they would call it in.......