Daniel W. Fletcher's Seaside Pop-Up

Late last month, as a heat wave swept across England, the designer Daniel W. Fletcher stood outside his summertime pop-up shop in Margate and looked out on a beach that was more crowded than it had been in decades. After over a year of travel restrictions, the English have rediscovered their own southern coast as a pleasant—if at times damp—alternative to Mediterranean shores, and previously fading seaside destinations like Brighton, Hastings, Blackpool, and Margate have experienced a renaissance as sunseekers look to local alternatives to avoid fluctuating quarantine and lockdown rules across the Continent.

For the London-based Fletcher, the store, which will remain open through the beginning of September, is a homecoming of sorts, a throwback to a childhood spent eating fish and chips and playing at the arcade. "Twelve years of my life, my summer holidays were spent with my parents and my brother and sister going to different British coastal towns to spend our summer by the seaside," he recalls. "We didn't go abroad when we were kids, it was always about finding one of these seaside towns and me and my sister spending our afternoon playing on the penny falls and those little grabby machines in the fairgrounds and getting sunburnt on the beach and going boogie boarding."

Fletcher conceived of the shop during England's long winter lockdown, when the prospect of summertime fun was a far-off glimmer, as a way to rekindle the human connections that have been so sorely missed. Besides carrying his Fall 2021 collection, as well as a selection of other seashore items like beach balls, Frisbees, towels, and deck chairs, the store will also host printmaking workshops, weaving classes, and weekly Quoir (queer choir) rehearsals led by indie musician the Japanese House during its two-month run. "There's something so special about the British seaside that I thought it made great sense to open our own space and use it as somewhere that we can bring people together over the summer," he explains. "I was very conscious that it shouldn't be just people from London coming down and experiencing it. I did want to involve the local community as well, so that's why with the workshops we make most of them free and open to everyone and try to involve people who’ve lived in the area for a long time."

For a designer who has become increasingly focused on sustainability, known for his use of fabric offcuts in his collections, the beach-ready items for sale also offered the opportunity to reinvent some classics. The towels are one hundred percent organic cotton, the pails and shovels are made from metal rather than plastic, and the Frisbees are produced from recycled material. Fletcher points to the Rise Up Clean Up Margate campaign as inspiration. "It's about trying to make sure that we pass this message of 'don't leave this stuff on the beach,'" he says. "Take it with you, take it home. It's not a throwaway item, it should be something you keep and the next time you come to the beach, bring it back again."

While much of the travel industry is optimistic that next summer will see a return to our former profligate and jetsetting ways, Fletcher is hopeful that his pop-up shop can offer a respite after a difficult year as well as a reminder of the pleasures that can be found closer to home. "It feels like there's been a real resurgence of staycations, staying in the UK for the holidays," he elaborates. "People are really discovering what incredible places we do have here, so that's a big part of the Margate coastline this summer."

Daniel W. Fletcher Margate is open through September 1 at 18 Marine Drive, Margate, United Kingdom. Read this story and many more in print by ordering our Summer 2021 issue here.