Red Cross pop-up shop, Covent Garden

With donations from the likes of fashion designer Stella McCartney, actress Sienna Miller, Erdem, Giles Deacon, and Philip Treacy on offer, the British Red Cross pop-up, aka 'The Gift House' is a veritable fashion goldmine. Marking 100 years since the charity first set up temporary shops for donations, this 11-day event hosted in Covent Garden's Market Building offers items from the wardrobes of numerous sartorial heavyweights.
Though the London pop-up shop may seem like a modern phenomenon, the first of its kind was actually hosted by the charity way back in 1914 in order to raise money during the First World War. The name of the current project – ‘The Gift House’ - was the same as the original WWI project, and also the start of an initiative to help drive donations to the British Red Cross’ 330 permanent charity shops.
To honour the unique donations received in 1914, which included treasures such as Egyptian tapestries and a Persian kitten, this centenary celebration will put on sale an equally special range of clothing, accessories and home-ware items exclusively available at the Covent Garden venue.
‘This is a very special campaign not only celebrating 100 years of Red Cross shops but also commemorating the extraordinary commitment and sacrifice of our volunteers during the First World war,’ said Paul Thompson, Head of Retail at the British Red Cross. ‘We are extremely grateful for the generous donations we have received from a variety of high-profile designers and home-ware brands, just as we were for the donations we received 100 years ago, and I really hope that people across the UK will get behind the stock drive campaign and donate to their local Red Cross shops’.