FORTNUM & MASON EST. 1707 has a new treasure

Shopping for some of us is a fun event for others a necessary evil. Many people find that retail therapy is alive and well whilst others go for the convenience of online shopping. The latter has definitely had a detrimental effect on the retail industry throughout the world with many high street names having to close their doors. However, there are places in the world that go beyond the stamp of being described merely as “department stores”. Gallerie la Fayette in Paris and Bergdorf Goodman in New York for example are iconic masterpieces of architecture and taste and for me the best “store” in the world is London’s Fortnum & Mason.

To visit Fortnums is not just a treat for a serious shopper it is also a visit into a bygone era where liveried assistants glide around carpeted floors ready and willing to serve you. I love absolutely everything about this wonderful store starting from the outside with their amazing window displays. Always worthy of a look as you stroll along Piccadilly they are rarely commercial. Mostly they often don’t even feature product for sale, preferring to attract passers by with images that are whimsical and artistic. Then as you step inside the sweets,chocolates, teas, biscuits and coffees are displayed so beautifully you feel as though you are in a Harry Potter film set. Don’t even get me started on the iconic hampers and dazzling tea rooms and restaurants!

So on my recent trip to London it was really a must to visit Fortnum and Mason and see their newest architectural marvel: The Double Helix Staircase that was recently unveiled by none other than His Majesty King Charles. A two- year project, the staircase was built in sections by a team of talented craftspeople in West Sussex and then carefully assembled inside the store. The staircase features more than 3,000 hand-forged details each hand-cast by a master blacksmith and has been created in collaboration with celebrated architectural designer Ben Pentreath.

Why is it so special? Well aside from looking beautiful it has been inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s vision of a Double Helix Staircase. Only 5 exist of these two entwined staircases exist in the world. At Fortnums’s their staircase takes centre stage right in the middle of the ground floor allowing customers to go down to the Lower Ground and then right up to every floor above. Wrapping around the centre of the building’s atrium this amazing staircase looks like twisting strands of DNA and while I was there mesmerized many visitors who like myself enjoyed looking right up through its twists and turns.

If you are in London please find an excuse

to visit Fortnum and Masons and see the

commemorative plaque by this very special staircase.