IDEA

Tucked away above Wardour Street’s shopfronts in an unassuming second-floor office space and available to visit by appointment only, IDEA’s Soho ‘book room’ is a bit of an open secret. With its clean white walls and artfully displayed titles on art, fashion and photography sitting alongside branded accessories and apparel, the space feels more like a chic lifestyle store or commercial art gallery than a bookshop. Be sure to email ahead if you‘re keen to browse its discerningly curated edit of books and magazines, which may feature anything from the Spice Girls official 1997 photo album and a first-edition Robert Mapplethorpe photobook to a 2011 Helmut Lang catalogue and a vintage copy of The Face featuring Kate Moss’s first cover. And check out the merch too. The shop collaborates with some very eclectic names – most recently, Finnish cartoon series The Moomins and Paris, Texas director Wim Wenders – and its tongue-in-cheek range of slogan caps and tees have achieved cult status among London fashionistas.