Daniel W. Fletcher Opens Summer Pop-up in Margate, on England’s Kent Coast
THE SEA, THE SEA: The Americans have the Hamptons, South Beach and Southern California, while the Europeans have Capri, Cannes and Mykonos.
But a summer seaside pop-up in England? That’s a tough one.
This week, the designer Daniel W. Fletcher, a star of Netflix’s “Next in Fashion,” rose to the challenge, opening a temporary store in Margate, a beach resort on the Kent coast overlooking the English Channel.
Once a magnet for painters such as JMW Turner, and poets including T.S. Eliot, who wrote part of “The Waste Land” there, the town fell on hard times in the ’80s as British holidaymakers opted to travel abroad.
Of late, though, it’s been undergoing a revival thanks to the opening, a decade ago, of the Turner Contemporary art gallery, and an influx of London hipsters who’ve been opening bars, shops and restaurants. Tracey Emin, who grew up in Margate — a 90-minute train ride from London — has moved back, and is working from a new home and studio there.
“I spent my childhood summer holidays visiting the British seaside with my family, so for me there is something very nostalgic about it,” said Fletcher when asked why he chose Margate in particular. “There’s such a vibrant creative community in Margate, and I’ve been coming here for a few years now, and have fallen in love with the area.”
