WALSALL fashion designer Luke Roper is to open a flagship store in Birmingham’s Bullring shopping centre.
Due to begin trading on Thursday, the shop will see the former Shire Oak School pupil’s company now firmly established as a high street brand.
The 34-year-old creator, who founded his company Luke ten years ago and recently won the Drapers Award for Young Fashion Designer of the Year, says the launch is a dream come true.
“The company’s roots are firmly set in the West Midlands and, being a Walsall lad, the opening of the Birmingham store is a very proud moment for myself and everyone involved,” he said. “It shows how far we have come.”
Luke was introduced to design by his dressmaker mum and studied fashion at Walsall College where he first became noted for creating individual clothes for himself and his friends. He then took a menswear degree at Central St Martin’s College of Art and Design.
Graduating in 2000, he immediately launched his own clothing range for men. The company has grown over the past decade and last year Luke launched a collection of clothing for women, Forever in LJ.
Luke has proved to be popular with celebrities including Hall Green boxer Frankie Gavin, pictured below, footballer Jamie Carragher, EastEnders actor Scott Maslen, singers Dane Bowers and Carl Barat and bands including the Arctic Monkeys, Roll Deep, the Hoosiers and the Kaiser Chiefs.
The designer has retained his links with the West Midlands siting his head office in the Black Country and using iconic buildings, including the Bullring and the Rotunda, in the company’s promotions.
Birmingham will be the fourth standalone store for the company which already has branches in Manchester, Cardiff and Bristol. And Luke plans to roll out more stores across the UK and access markets abroad in the near future.
“The store opening is another organic step but there is a lot more to do and achieve over the next ten years – and we are all ready for the challenge,” he said.
