Plans for a new shop in Edinburgh’s city centre have been submitted to the council.
Developers are looking to transform the unit at 94 George Street, currently operated by Cruise. It would be taken over by Free People, a ‘boho’ fashion retailer that was created back in the ’70s.
The plans hope to redecorate the existing shopfront and fascia. They are yet to be approved by Edinburgh Council.
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APT Design, who submitted the plans to Edinburgh Council, said: “The Edinburgh New Town is primarily a mixed-use area, comprising numerous historic stone clad buildings in similar scale and arranged in a stringent grid dating back to the 18th century.
“There are few newer buildings present. Most buildings in the neighbourhood provide ground floor retail units with a mixture of ancillary spaces, offices and residential apartments on the upper floors.
“The unit at 94 George Street comprises of a ground, first and basement floor retail space with back of house and storage at second and third floor.”
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On their site, Free People say: “Back in the 1970’s, a young man named Dick Hayne planted a seed in the maze of streets and trees that make up West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He opened a store and called it Free People. Free People nurtured the young people who lived there and shopped there, who looked for a little of their own freedom in the clothes they wore.
“As Dick’s store grew from one to two, the name was changed from Free People to Urban Outfitters. In time, his wife Meg came on to tend Urban’s private label division, which supported product exclusive to Urban Outfitters.
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“Demand was almost immediate and to meet this overwhelming need, she and Dick decided to create a wholesale line. It was very well-received, so much so that Dick separated the businesses. For a while, the wholesale line took on many personalities: Bulldog, Ecote, Cooperative, Anthropologie, and then in 1984 a new life was breathed into the name Free People. And that’s us.
“During 2001, we realized that it was really Free People that invoked some of our favourite images, those of femininity, courage, and spirit. It was time to get back to our roots.”