While Regent Street buzzes with sparkling festive lights, colourful shop windows and busy Londoners ticking off their Christmas gift lists, one space offers the chance to buy presents while supporting people in need. This year, the Choose Love Shop is bigger than ever, celebrating the 10th year of the charity with a pop-up that will span across two floors and sell essential supplies for refugees, pre-loved luxury fashion, Choose Love merch and for the first time, also host a cafe – with all profits going to support refugees around the world.
“The best thing about [Choose Love Shop] is that every single thing people buy will support our work,” Jo Estrin, director of communications for Choose Love, tells Broadsheet. “Choose Love exists to help people make tangible actions that can help our fellow humans around the world.” Customers can buy hot food, warm blankets and mental health care for refugees – and if they buy the item in the name of a loved one, the recipient will receive an e-card letting them know the impact of their gift.
The sumptuously decorated space is designed once again by award-winning production designer Misty Buckley (The Oscars, The BRIT Awards, Wicked: For Good). From November 26, it will also host the Choose Gifts section, where celebrity stylists Aimée Croysdill, Holly Eva White and Felicity Kay have curated a selection of new, pre-loved and past-season luxury fashion and beauty items, all donated by brands like (from last year's selection) Prada, Christian Louboutin, Loewe and Miu Miu and available at discounted prices. There’s also Choose Love merchandise with hoodies, sleepsuits, tote bags, wrapping paper and more.
Limited edition T-shirts from the exclusive range created in collaboration with Virgin will make great gifts for music-lovers; there are T-shirts featuring imagery from Paloma Faith, Neneh Cherry and Fatboy Slim.
This is the first year that Choose Love Shop will host a cafe, where beans have been donated by Dalston-based roastery Allpress. Estrin hopes that it will offer Londoners a space where they can pause from their shopping and “spend some more time understanding our work and the impact that is has, supporting displaced people from Gaza to Greece”.
Last year, Choose Love Shop raised more than $1.1 million, which was distributed across hundreds of local humanitarian aid partners across the world. What makes the shop such a big hit with Londoners? “So many people are watching the news and feeling helpless,” Estrin says. “In our shop, we show all the important work our partners are doing in ways that people can directly support and helps the shopper decide how they want to support displaced people.”
Choose Love Shop runs from November 18 – December 24.
Hours:
Mon to Fri 11am-8pm
Sat 10am-8pm
Sun midday-6pm
