UCL entrepreneur launches Kickstarter campaign for concept store

Julija Bainiaksina, who has just completed a degree in MEng Civil Engineering at UCL, is launching the campaign for £45,000 in funding to launch The Dandy Lab, a pop-up retail experience which will combine cutting-edge smart retailing technologies with a traditional, bricks-and-mortar shopping experience to showcase the future of the retail.

Since launching on Monday, the campaign has already raised over £20,000 towards their target.

If successful, Julija and co-founder Peter Jeun Ho Tsang will use the funds to open the pop-up store in December 2014, with the backing of several influential partners including Cisco, UCL, Holition and We Are Pop Up.

Once open, the store will focus on offering a variety of products and fashion centred on men's lifestyle, mixing established menswear brands with smaller collections, including pieces from Julija's own knitwear company, Foxhunt.

On top of this collection of men's fashion and accessories will be layered a variety of cutting-edge digital technologies to augment the retail experience in Dandy Lab. These will aim to both personalise the shopping experience for customers and provide valuable feedback to retailers on consumer behaviour.

One innovation planned is the installation of an interactive shop window that will analyse a customer's gender and colours they are wearing to then suggest other products that would suit their personal style.

Julija said:

"With The Dandy Lab, we are aiming to give people the chance to immerse themselves in the store of the future with an entirely new shopping experience yet to be seen.

We'll be showcasing some of the ways people will see their retail experience enhanced through technology, in addition to giving them access to exclusive ranges of made in Britain products from designers across the UK."