Seven Dials boosts ethical appeal with opening of Dai

Shaftesbury has today announced that the sustainable women’s performance wear brand, Dai, has opened its debut permanent space on 35-37 Monmouth Street, Seven Dials. Alongside the launch of two vintage activations, these recent openings boost Seven Dials’ diverse community of ethically driven retailers, solidifying it as London’s go-to destination for the conscious consumer. 

Founded initially as an online-only retailer which has seen subsequent pop-up tenancies, former finance executive, Joanna Dai, founded Dai to deliver comfort-empowered performance wear for the modern professional woman. Following its recent B Corp Certification, Dai Seven Dials marks an important next step in the brand’s UK expansion. Dai’s 1,400 sq ft store houses its full collection of elegantly tailored clothing made from innovative, eco-friendly fabrics that combine stylish silhouettes with properties of activewear – stretch, breathability and wrinkle-resistance. 

The new store, designed in house, features upcycled materials from previous pop-ups as a way to reuse, regenerate, and minimise waste and carbon impact. Dai is also launching Dai’Cycle, a programme where customers can drop off their preloved Dai clothing in exchange for a gift card to use on their next in-store purchase. Dai will renew and repair the recycled pieces and offer in-store as preloved items to new customers, or donate it to its charity partner Smart Works. 

Joanna Dai, Founder & CEO at Dai, commented: “After so much time working and living our lives through screens, we’re very excited for our new store to empower in-person connection with our community once again. We want our Seven Dials space to be a place where women can connect, learn and exchange ideas, in addition to displaying everything we do best on comfy performance apparel for our 24/7 wardrobes and our sustainable sourcing and design process.”

The new Dai boutique joins two pre-loved, vintage activations recently launched within Seven Dials. London-based vintage and reworked clothing retailer, Vintage Threads, has opened a flagship store at 69 Neal Street. Vintage Threads specialises in a combination of old school sportswear and 80s and 90s designer pieces, providing visitors with a refined selection of hand-picked, affordable vintage clothing from brands including Nike, Ralph Lauren and YSL. With sustainability at the brand’s core, the Seven Dials store also features Vintage Threads’ rework collection. Made from damaged items and discarded materials, the collection presents unique, one-of-kind pieces that have been designed and hand-stitched by Vintage Threads’ in-house team.

Retro clothing brand, True Vintage, is another new opening to join Seven Dials at 18 Earlham Street, and stocks a diverse array of pre-loved fashion, including an exclusive Stone Island collection, as well as North Face collaborations with Gucci and Burberry, plus an array of designer sunglasses from Versace, Dior and Fendi. True Vintage Seven Dials also provides visitors with the opportunity to custom-embroider their purchases, offering a personalised shopping experience.

Samantha Bain-Mollison, Retail Director at Shaftesbury, added: “Sustainability has always been an important factor when selecting brands coming into Seven Dials. We work consistently hard to curate a diverse line-up of brands with strong environmental credentials.  Whilst sustainability is becoming a saturated concept across the industry we ensure we seek out retailers such as Dai,  alongside other B-Corp rated names in Seven Dials such as Finisterre, Le Labo, Vivo Barefoot, Aēsop and Ace & Tate whose ethics are all authentic and substantiated. It’s fantastic to be home to Dai’s first store, whose unique offering is already drawing many visitors within the Seven Dials neighbourhood, and creating a line-up full of content and vibrancy.”

Dai, Vintage Threads and True Vintage join a host of recently opened retailers in Seven Dials, including MATE, Colorful Standard, Apex Rides, and Hidden Planet, all of which demonstrate the destination’s continuous retail appeal.

Hanover Green, Nash Bond and Cushman & Wakefield represent Seven Dials. HDH acted for Dai. 

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