A hip-hop dance show from the high-energy German performance troupe Rumble set the mood for the opening yesterday of the new Harvey Nichols "boutique" store in Dundrum Town Centre.
"It's a mixture of music, dance and fashion which is what the store is all about," an excited Julia Bowe, Harvey Nichols marketing director, said as curious crowds gathered in the square in the midday sun.
When doorman Paul Kennedy, in top hat and tails, opened the glass doors at l2.30, hundreds of shoppers - men, women and children - coursed through to explore the store's three levels. Those first into the ground-floor cafe with its pesto-coloured marble floor and colourful tulip chairs were greeted with Bucks Fizz and scones, while on the cosmetics floor cognoscenti were welcoming Becca, the hot new make-up company from Australia, boasting 36 shades of foundation.
On the women's and men's fashion floor the search was on to gasp at the most expensive items like a John Galliano black evening dress for €2,500, a Lanvin taffeta sheath for €950, or, in menswear, vintage l983 Porsche aviator glasses with a €400 price tag. Groups checked out the jeans and Donna Karan "offers" and edgy labels like Sara Berman and Martin Grant, while local building workers were checking out the price of a Kroner in the sexy cocktail bar upstairs. On the ground floor, the Bloom Bar offered no beer but stylish arrangements of fresh flowers.
For most people, the surprise was the size of the store - smaller than expected, particularly the food hall. A Dublin mother and daughter, customers of the Knightsbridge store, said they came for the Matthew Williamson dresses - "His stuff is magic" - while a starstruck teenager, l3-year-old Susan Magner, also from Dublin, said she loved "everything". Joyce Costelloe's opinion was that "it offers something different when everybody else is doing the same".
Another Dubliner, Esther McGahon, reckoned there were "prices for everyone and you don't get blinded by fashion; it is not like a department store". Some were not so starry-eyed, however. One middle-aged man commented that he had "just seen the ugliest jacket in my life and it costs €2,500".
There was general agreement that the cocktail bar and lovely upstairs restaurant (with head chef Thomas Haughton, formerly of Guilbaud and Luttrellstown Castle, at the stove) were bound to attract customers during the day and at night. Store manager Jackie Byrne believes the venture will "offer something lovely to Dundrum and an alternative to Grafton Street. As for prices, people buy for special occasions and they are not buckling."
The shop opens directly on to the square, unlike many other outlets housed in the adjoining mall, and has a separate night-time entrance for the restaurant. Its presence is bound to be a boost for the centre, though access and signage for the car parks is still a problem.