---PHOTOGRAPHY-BY-LUCIA-BELL-EPSTEIN.jpg)
At the soft launch, 40 Duke seemed to already be bedded in; a natural addition to the Bond Street ecosystem, once famously bereft of comfy places to unwind. Guests and customers enjoying an uncomplicated lunch in the new Club Lounge restaurant, or taking in the unlikely Easter sun on the terrace are unaware that under a year ago, this space was filled with Selfridges’s buying team, among others, typing away at their desks. The company’s behind-the-scenes office spaces have been swiftly ushered centre stage, and transformed by interior architects Nice Projects, into a shapeshifting public arena; a private shopping destination-meets-members club.
Known for his gallery series – a set of appointment-only showrooms in residential locations, such as a West Village town house and the Goldwyn House in Los Angeles – David Alhadeff and his team at The Future Perfect were a natural choice to kit out Selfridges’s new space, having perfected the concept of reimagining the gallery in a residential environment. The aim was to create a comfortable space to relax first, and a place to shop second. Alhadeff hopes to introduce the Future Perfect’s international roster of designers to a London audience in a setting that emphasises both craftsmanship and meaningful engagement with contemporary design. Plus, it’s all shoppable. See (or sit on) something you like and your associate can fill in the gaps.
You need a lot of lighting to illuminate 2,300-odd square metres, and variety was important to prevent the space from becoming too shop-like. To that end, The Future Perfect answered the call with an array of their favourites, including both well-known names in lighting-design circles and emerging talents. Subtle and silvery ceiling-mounted pieces from Marseille’s Axel Chay complement statement pendants by New York’s Blue Green Works (like the one seen hanging over the seating area in the entrance). 40 Duke benefits from London-based, geometry-minded Michael Anastassiades’s polished-nickel pieces, alongside Flos’s industrial-looking ‘Superwire’ tripod-mounted lamps that would look right at home on a film set. Like all good lighting solutions, you don’t notice it unless you’re looking for it. But the space feels comfy, and crucially, well-lit. All the better to see you with (says the shopper to their new shoes).
The Future Perfect has nurtured the career of Eindhoven-based designer Piet Hein Eek – known for his use of recycled materials and distinctive patchwork wood furniture – for more than 20 years, and his choice pieces and custom works are included at 40 Duke, spanning tables, jugs and lighting. Much of the seating is by Italian furniture company Arflex, and specifically Cini Boeri, the pioneering Milanese architect and designer who died in 2020 – another maestro long-championed by The Future Perfect.
Instagram content
The curation of the artworks, masterminded by Camden Art Centre’s Dr Matt Williams, prioritises emerging names – many of whom have completed original commissions – as well as more well-known ones; there’s a Doig print, for instance, but the focus is on local London galleries (like Ginny on Frederick and Arcadia Missa). Mary Stephenson, represented by Maureen Paley, only graduated from the Royal Academy three years ago, but her large work takes pride of place in the entrance foyer. There’s a moving self-portrait by Avery Singer, who mounted a big London show in 2023 with Hauser & Wirth, while Nnena Kalu, who won last year’s Turner Prize, also has her work represented. Pass punchy pieces by Rene Matić and Rosemarie Trockel in the corridors.
This is a place to have fun, after all, and in the last private shopping booth on the left, Amsterdam-based Nora Turato’s screen printed acrylic reads: ‘Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!’ – completing the tour with a suitable exclamation point.
40 Duke can be accessed through the Selfridges Unlocked membership programme, or through Personal Shopping appointments and reservations across its dining and social spaces
