Granny Takes a Trip

Granny Takes a Trip opened in nineteen sixty-six at four hundred eighty-eight Kings Road. This address sat in a stretch of Chelsea known as the Worlds End, which was largely ignored by fashion retailers until this shop arrived. It was founded by three young pioneers: graphic artist Nigel Waymouth, vintage clothing collector Sheila Cohen, and Savile Row-trained tailor John Pearse. They launched the boutique primarily as an outlet for antique garments, but it quickly evolved into a creative laboratory for the city's burgeoning counterculture. The name itself served as a double meaning, referencing both the shop's focus on vintage, or granny, style and the psychedelic drug experiences of the era.