Models want more – and Kat Qiu is making moves to do so
Model Kat Qiu’s résumé includes walking for Rick Owens, appearing in Karl Lagerfeld campaigns, and towering over Times Square on Balenciaga billboards. She’s made her mark in luxury fashion, but now, she wants full creative control. Qiu is set to open her entirely self-funded concept store in London, called VoyeurVoyeur.
Qiu acknowledges that it’s an interesting (some might say difficult) time to open a department store. In the U.S., Neiman Marcus is closing its flagship after 110 years, and globally, Net-A-Porter’s dominance in wholesale is starting to wane. Regardless, Qiu sets out to make a big move for models in the industry. We are used to seeing collaborations and partnerships between brands and models, but Qiu is stepping outside of this box to do something entirely on her own.
VoyeurVoyeur will carry an ever-changing catalog of goods, including Rick Owens, Ann Demeulemeester, Helmut Lang, Dries Van Noten, Jean Paul Gaultier, Mugler, Coperni, Willy Chavarria, Acronym, KNWLS, and more. The store is designed not just for shopping, but for discovery. Qiu believes clothes are meant to be touched, tried on, and experienced. The approach is creative, not corporate; less about utility, more about curiosity.
To realize the space, Qiu is working with Crab Studio, the London-based architectural firm led by Peter Cook and Gavin Robothan. The design will reflect the store’s ethos: immersive, unexpected, and deeply considered.
Beyond retail, VoyeurVoyeur is the beginning of something larger. Qiu envisions future expansion into Asia—Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul—where independent, experimental spaces still thrive. Her long-term goal is to build an entity that bridges consumer and artist: a platform supporting emerging talent across fashion, interiors, art, and design.
With VoyeurVoyeur, Kat Qiu isn’t just opening a store, she is creating a new kind of space in London, one that challenges the bounds of retail and reclaims creative agency on her own terms.
