London's 'uber-cool' scene

Yo Sushi: came out cool

10 April 2012

The debate has echoed through the cafes, bars and clubs of the capital for years. But now, it seems, Londoners may finally have an answer to what and where is "cool".

Experts in "uber-cool living" have now drawn up the ultimate guide to where the London scene is. The 90 Cool Hunters, as they are called, came from across Europe and also advise clothing labels and advertising houses about what is "big".

They have handpicked the places to eat, drink, dance and chat, that epitomise the fashionable urban lifestyle to which many Londoners aspire.

For those who thought that a cool area to live might be Hoxton, Clerkenwell or Borough thanks to their thriving art scenes, massive loft spaces and subtle spread of cafes and restaurants, think again.

According to the report, Cool Hunt 2002, the place to live is Fulham. The smart and rather subdued area popular with City workers and rugby enthusiasts is the original choice of the Cool Hunters. Cool shopping areas also throw up interesting suggestions. Kensington High Street, which mainly features chain clothing stores and electrical outlets, is cool.

As are the Knightsbridge boutiques offering an array of designer clothes at designer prices. But the handmade trainers and T-shirts found in independent shops around Covent Garden fail to make the cool grade.

Cool clubs are named as Cafe de Paris, popular with tourists and hen nights, as well as Cynthia's Cyber Bar at London Bridge - a combination of kitsch eastern-European decor and the set of a Smash advert.

However, many people are bewildered by the list. Callum McGeoch, deputy editor of Dazed and Confused Magazine, said the results were on the unusual side. He said that he personally felt that it had listed many venues which tried to be perceived as cool.

"It's just astonishing that Cafe de Paris is the pinnacle of cutting edge underground club culture and Kensington high Street is a cool place to shop.

"Any Eighties Japanese guide book to London could have told them that. You have to wonder what, if any, definition of cool they were working with.

"It's no coincidence that the word 'cool' is so often preceded by the word 'effortless' - there is no other kind. If you have to try, then you've already failed."

According to the list other cool places include Hyde Park "especially in the summer" and Soho, with the most innovative suggestion being the King's Cross area.

Dr Carl Rohde, who compiled the report, claims that the list in London is created by the ultimately cool people in the city. "We discover 'cool' from working with the coolest people in each city across Europe and utilise different types of 'cool' people to inform us on 'generic' cool and 'deviant' cool. We also have strategic cool hunters who inform us why things are cool. Through a long process of information gathering and interpretation we develop the trends presented in the report."

Cool shops include Topshop, which offers the latest catwalk styles at rock-bottom prices. Japanese store Muji is also popular as well as Levi and FCUK. Bars rated as cool are a little more in tune with Londoners' perspectives with venues such as Lab and Hakkasan receiving the thumbs up.

However, cool restaurants may cause yet more debate. Yo Sushi, the Zinc Bar and Grill and the children's burger bar Rainforest are apparently cool.

The Cool Hunt 2002 report, commissioned by PR firm Hill and Knowlton, also looks at more general trends. According to the author, 11 September has had a dramatic effect on trends making it fashionable to spend time with families.

For London builders there is also good news. They are now very, very cool. According to the report "pictures that refer to the hard construction work that is an inevitable part of the city are admired as cool".

London's 'uber-cool' scene

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