Scandinavian clothing, accessories and homeware brand Arket opened its new flagship Irish store in Dublin’s city centre on Thursday morning.
The store, situated at the corner of Dawson Street and Nassau Street, had postponed its original opening date of July 31st “until further notice”.
The brand, founded eight years ago by the H&M group, currently operates more than 40 shops across Europe and Asia. Now Arket has taken two floors and 810sq m of a new mixed-use development called Grafton Place. Like many of Arket’s existing stores, the shop will have a seasonal vegetarian cafe and coffee shop attached to it.
Arket takes design inspiration from the Nordic region whose aesthetic it says is characterised by “clean lines, a neutral colour palette and solid materials drawn from nature and the northern climate”.
READ MORE
The brand’s popularity can be traced to its ability to capitalise on the Scandi-cool fashion movement, which has seen more people take inspiration from Scandinavian trends and popularised brands from that region such as Ganni, Samsøe Samsøe and Acne Studios.
“We’re very excited to be opening our first Arket location in Ireland with this beautiful flagship store in the centre of Dublin,” said Pernilla Wohlfahrt, Arket’s managing director.
“We look forward to connecting with our local customers and inviting them to explore our vision for a more beautiful everyday life’.
Customers can expect to pay similar prices for items as they would at Cos, which is also owned by the H&M group and situates itself as a more premium high-street brand.
Men’s and women’s clothes are typically priced similarly in both stores.
T-shirts range in price from €20-€50 depending on the style and material used.
Arket uses a lot of Alpaca-wool blends in its knitwear and you can expect to pay about €120 for a wool jumper.
Jackets vary quite a lot in price depending on their construction and material, but many come in around the €180 mark.
Jeans are usually €89 but some styles like slim jeans can be €69.
Dresses can be as low as €40 but also at the higher end – a leather dress, for example, can come in at more than €400. More typical styles seem to retail for €129.
Arket also sells shoes, bags and jewellery. Bags vary in price depending on their size and material – a leather crossbody bag is €139. It sells shoes made and designed under its branding, and stocks shoes from other brands such as Adidas and New Balance. Trainers are usually about €110 while leather shoes by Arket are normally more than €200. Jewellery ranges in price from €25 to €45.
The brand also does children’s clothes. Dresses are normally about €35, knitwear €45, T-shirts about €17, PJ sets for €35 and trousers about €40.
