Current Streetscape
At one time Bond Street was best known for top end art dealers and antique shops, clustered around the London office of Sotheby's auction house, which has been in Bond Street for over a hundred years, and of the Fine Art Society, present on the street since its foundation in 1876. A few of these remain but many of the shops are now occupied by fashion boutiques, including branches of most of the leading premium-priced designer brands in the world. In recent years Sloane Street, which is a mile or so away in Knightsbridge, the other shopping district in central London concentrating on items de luxe, has become a rival to Bond Street, with duplicate branches of many of the top boutiques.
The northern end of Old Bond Street, in particular, is also notable as one of the world’s greatest concentrations of outlets of upmarket jewellers, to the extent that presence on the strip may now be regarded as de rigueur for any brand wishing to proclaim the highest international standing.
The street features "Allies", an unusual statue by Lawrence Holofcener of Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt, who are portrayed sitting on a park bench in conversation.
Shops currently located on Bond Street include Boodles, Smythson, Armani, Louis Vuitton, Graff Diamonds, Cartier, Dolce & Gabanna, Tiffany & Co., Hermès, Polo Ralph Lauren, Chanel, Prada, Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo, Burberry, DKNY, Ermenegildo Zegna, Yves Saint Laurent, Bulgari, Harry Winston, Dior, Anya Hindmarch, Jimmy Choo, Chopard, Mulberry, Longchamp, Anne Fontaine, Calvin Klein, Alexander McQueen and Miu Miu.
Bond Street is mentioned in a number of works of literature, including Jane Austen's novel Sense and Sensibility, Virginia Woolf's 1925 novel Mrs Dalloway, and Suzanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. It is also a square on the British Monopoly board, the same colour as Regent and Oxford Streets – green – and is the most expensive of the three.
In 2010, Bond Street was Europe's most expensive retail location. Rent rates rose 19.4% from the year before.
Read more about this topic: Bond Street
Famous quotes containing the word current:
“This is no argument against teaching manners to the young. On the contrary, it is a fine old tradition that ought to be resurrected from its current mothballs and put to work...In fact, children are much more comfortable when they know the guide rules for handling the social amenities. It’s no more fun for a child to be introduced to a strange adult and have no idea what to say or do than it is for a grownup to go to a formal dinner and have no idea what fork to use.”
—Leontine Young (20th century)