Defining the Urban Icon Experience

Just last week, I told you that one of the perks of being an editor is the opportunity to sift through press releases for the latest trends in fashion and beauty. For instance, just check out these fashionable beauties from labels that can be found at locally-brewed retailer of all things city-chic, Urban Icon:

See those two braided blinged-up pavé beauties? That’s the Glam Camille Holiday 2013 collection by Michael Kors. Meanwhile, the colorful bags are from New York label, IIIBeca: the woman behind IIIBeca is Joy Gryson, a New Yorker who founded the brand as her way of helping out her community (a percentage of proceeds go to September 11 support group charities). In addition to IIIBeca, she has an eponymous label, as well as the brand targeted towards mobile urbanites, Olivia Harris.

I got the opportunity to become familiar with these brands — and many more that fly their banner at Urban Icon — at a special bloggers’ gathering at the Urban Icon store at Senayan City some moons ago. We invited some friends from the Female Daily forum to participate in the celebrations, and I think everyone — not even us! — could have expected the magnitude of success that it turned out to be.

The night started with a word of welcome from Urban Icon’s General Manager-Fashion, the very affable Matthew Mendelsohn. He explained Urban Icon’s expansion from a store known for its high-quality timepieces, to a one-stop lifestyle shop. He also elaborated on the philosophy behind the selection of labels that held not just style and quality in high esteem, but also stories: the importance of a brand’s materialization and purpose was also imperative to the Urban Icon DNA. This is why brands from places like Los Angeles (like beach-ready Melie Bianco), Barcelona (the unfettered Desigual), and Texas (Fossil), all have a place they can call home in Urban Icon.

Matthew also shared with us some of Urban Icon’s unique services, like their Inside & Outside Guarantee. This is a policy which promises to protect every part of the watch purchased from an Urban Icon store from wear and tear within the first six months of purchase. So if other watch stores only have a policy that covers the dial and movement mechanics of a watch, Urban Icon will cover and replace any defective part — from the dial, crown, crystal, strap, everything — for free. How neat is that?

The night’s fun began when distribution of custom-picked gifts from Urban Icon to each participant. Based on the results of a personality survey, everyone was given either a bag or watch from one of the many brands carried by Urban Icon. Everyone seemed really pleased with their respective gifts, because they did indeed match up to their personalities quite well. Talk about custom-picked goodie bags!

We then moved on to a special game designed to shed more light onto the plethora of brands available at Urban Icon. Basically, each team was given a set of clues that pertained to one specific brand: for example, the clues that German industrial-chic accessories label, Liebeskind, were all about the city it came from (Berlin). Teams then had pick out an item from that brand available in the store to prove that they had their brand knowledge down-pat. Since everyone  on board was especially savvy, every team got their answers right, and the winning foursome was selected based on who figured out their clues first.

Everyone walked away with custom-picked gifts, shopping vouchers, and a wealth of information on Urban Icon and their style philosophy. To have the Urban Icon experience of your own, drop by the store nearest to you! There are more than fifteen Urban Icon stores at eight Indonesian cities; not forgetting, of course, that their online store is always open and delivers free across the entire archipelago. So what are you waiting for? Exercise your freedom to experience Urban Icon, your way 😉