Designer clothing popping up in a shop near you

Pop-up shops have been described as a new retail concept for today's tough economy but the owners of a new store in Mount Maunganui say it's an age-old idea.
Palm Pop-up opens tomorrow in a former surf shop on Maunganui Rd, selling designer labels including Day Birger et Mikkelson, American Retro, Deborah Sweeney, Pep and Red Engine.
Pop-up shops have become popular in the past year as designers, bitten by the recession, need sell clothes quickly - and empty retail spaces provide the perfect temporary shops.
But Palm Pop-up owner Jane Palm said she was inspired by memories of the pop-up store her father ran in Westport in the 1950s.
A retailer based in Christchurch, he would travel to the West Coast to sell lingerie, nylons and other hosiery in temporary shops.
"His pop-up stores eventually developed into an eagerly awaited event on the social calendar, giving the women of the region a unique opportunity to indulge," Mrs Palm said.
The Nelson-based retailer, who has a shop there called Palm Boutique, had seen an "amazing amount of stock" for sale at Fashion Week.
And after looking through old family photo albums of her father's pop-up shops, she decided to create her own around the country.
"We decided to do Tauranga first because it's a summer destination and we were able to get [a suitable] venue."
Mrs Palm said the clothes would be priced under $200, apart from some leather garments, which would be slightly more expensive.
The stock will be a mix and each garment will be available only in small numbers.
"There won't be masses of any one thing. It's the same in my Nelson boutique - there's not six of each thing hanging on the rack. Nelson's not a big place and people don't like to be seen in something someone else is wearing."
The Mount Maunganui shop, which will be open over summer, will be kitted out in unusual artefacts painted white and displayed as installations, created by Mrs Palm's husband Anders.
The shop is a family affair - son Alex and daughter Julia are working there.
Mrs Palm said pop-up shops were extremely popular in Europe and increasingly so in New Zealand. "I guess with the recession ladies still need clothes but can't afford to pay top dollar. There's lots of empty shops, so we are using up rental space which is empty."