BBC star to sell second-hand clothes at the Westfield centre

Selling second-hand clothes beside a shop specialising in £1,000 designer bags may seem a little risky. But in a sign that charity shops truly have become chic, one is going to open in Westfield shopping centre yards from a new Louis Vuitton store.

The mastermind behind the move is former Harvey Nichols style expert Mary Portas, the star of BBC2 show Mary Queen Of Shops. Her Westfield outlet, Mary's Living and Giving Shop, will ditch shabby decor and rows of dusty clothes for a bright, accessible layout modelled on fashionable street markets. It opens on 4 June and profits will go to various charities.

Ms Portas said: "A lot of people think charity shops are a little bit irrelevant, but I want to change that. There is a financial and environmental crisis as well as the continuing trend to shop online. Charity shops are in a position to harness the impact of those issues, and if they do they'll be in a powerful position on the high street."

She believes a shop selling secondhand and vintage clothes, as well as end-of-line donations from clothing brands, is not out of place next to a high-value designer. "The luxury sector is already changing — people might shop in designer stores and cheap supermarkets. You can't define the luxury shopper any more," she added.

Charity shops have done well out of the downturn. The Association of Charity Shops said sales had risen up to five per cent every month this year — even Victoria Beckham confessed to dipping into Oxfam for a bargain.

Ms Portas's Living and Giving shop will open for a month to coincide with her next BBC2 series, Mary Queen of Charity Shops, which begins on 2 June. She hopes it can become a permanent fixture and has not ruled out further outlets across London and the rest of the country.