The Bicester Collection, with its global platform of 12 open-air shopping destinations across Europe, China and North America, is increasingly growing into more than just boutique outlets, currently redefining what it looks like when retail sits alongside dining, culture and seasonal programming.
This summer, the Collection’s programming spans a Gaudí-inspired art installation in Catalonia, a 25th anniversary milestone in Belgium, a French sculptor's work finding a permanent home in Verdi County, and a calendar of outdoor events in Oxfordshire, The Bicester Collection’s home ground. Across the Villages, the common theme is investments that are continually redefining the spaces beyond boutiques alone.
This year, Bicester Collection’s La Roca Village in Barcelona is home to the most extensive programme currently running at any of the Villages.
Located 40 minutes from Barcelona and close to Girona and France, this year the Village has launched A Doorway to Barcelona, a year-long programme of original artistic installations celebrating three converging landmarks in 2026 — the centenary of Antoni Gaudí's death, the completion of the Sagrada Família's Torre de Jesucristo, and UNESCO's designation of Barcelona as World Capital of Architecture.
For A Doorway to Barcelona, Flowers by Bornay, a Barcelona-based studio led by Joan Xapelli, has created a series of monumental installations that reinterpret two of Gaudí’s defining works. These large-scale sculptural gates are derived from the wrought-iron gates of La Pedrera and the ceramic roofline of Casa Batlló.
The installations are large-scale wooden doorways covered petal by petal by hand with flowers inspired by the colours of the stained glass of the Sagrada Família — orange dahlias, blue delphinium, green lisianthus and hydrangea.
Photographer and artist Jordi Bernadó (Lleida, 1966) brings a complementary series of 24 photographs taken inside 24 Barcelona homes, from La Pedrera to El Raval, displayed along the Village's boulevards. This photographic exhibition captures the city from within, from the lived experiences of its people. Among the subjects is the last private resident of La Pedrera, the woman who still lives in Gaudí’s house, not as a monument, but as a home.
For this year-long programme, La Roca Village has partnered with Casa Batlló and La Pedrera. The Village is home to over 150 international and local boutiques and is styled to reflect Gaudí's visual influence on Catalonia.
Fidenza Village, one of Bicester Collection’s 12 global shopping destinations and home to over 120 boutiques, has brought French artist Richard Orlinski’s iconic sculpture, Wild Kong, to Italy after it was featured as part of an exhibition at the University of Milan. The piece, a three-metre-high red resin sculpture, was featured during the Fuorisalone part of the Interni Materiae exhibition, which was open to the public from April 20 to 30.
Following Design Week, the Wild Kong was relocated to Fidenza Village, located in Verdi County, as part of a curated, site-specific trail helping to reimagine the destination from a shopping hub into an open-air museum, which is now home to 29 artworks.
The Bicester Collection’s Maasmechelen Village, situated at the crossroads of Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2026 with a summer programme and a new landmark.
The Village marks its milestone with the new landmark — a mirrored cube installed beneath the Village's iconic clocktower near the Armani entrance. This landmark pays homage to the region's mining history, with a path leading to it paved with coal-textured and earthy materials. The installation sits alongside the Village's six-metre-high Manneken Pis statue, which has been a fixture since 2019.
The summer programme at Maasmechelen includes Le Spritzz Terrace, running till August 31, with DJ sets and live music in a setting modelled on the aperitivo culture of the Amalfi Coast.
Sushi Thursdays at Cho Gao, the Village's Asian-fusion restaurant, takes place every Thursday from June 11 to August 27. Belgian heritage fashion house Essentiel Antwerp has taken over the Village's Le Spritzz Terrace in a boutique refit from August 15 to September 6.
From April 2, Maasmechelen Village has opened an Art Route for guests, beginning at the Manneken Pis and passing creative stops that each link to a digital gallery celebrating 25 years of the Village's creative collaborations.
Constantly introducing new brands, culinary ventures and immersive experiences, the Village’s collaborations keep growing. In recent years, the Village has seen international arrivals such as Zadig&Voltaire, Rituals and Longchamp, alongside Cho Gao, which is currently hosting weekly Sushi Thursdays.
Championing Belgian skill and growing talent, the Village often showcases Belgian labels with seasonal pop-ups, often made even more glamorous with brands like Christian Louboutin, Morobé, Odette Lunettes and Les Soeurs Hendrickx.
Alongside being a popular shopping destination, entertainment plays a huge role in the Village’s appeal. Some of the most popular musical lineups in the Village include DJ sets by Belgian personalities like Viktor Verhulst and Anouk Matton.
Bicester Village, the flagship of The Bicester Collection, located in Oxfordshire, is running its summer programme through August and September 2026. The Village’s upcoming summer events include: Your Unreal Glow with Charlotte Tilbury, a beauty masterclass with the Charlotte Tilbury artistry team on August 29, and an hour-long guided morning yoga class with Sweaty Betty’s Yoga Morning on August 16 and September 6.
Some more hands-on experiences coming soon include outdoor cinema sessions at The Duke's Summer Cinema on selected dates, an immersive hands-on beekeeping experience on multiple dates, and pizza-making sessions for children at Cecconi's conducted by the restaurant’s head chef.
Bicester Village’s On Running Club meets on various dates for a relaxed way to get moving. Steak nights at The Double Red Duke continue every Tuesday.
Across its Villages, The Bicester Collection has built a calendar this summer that extends well beyond shopping. Whether it is encountering Gaudí's Barcelona through the lens of two Catalan artists at La Roca Village, watching Richard Orlinski's Wild Kong stand among 29 artworks on a trail at Fidenza Village, raising a glass at Maasmechelen's Amalfi-inspired terrace as the Village marks 25 years, or joining a yoga session or outdoor cinema evening in Oxfordshire, each destination is operating as much as a programme as a place.
Visit www.thebicestercollection.com to step into a global destination where fashion, culture, cuisines and well-being come together.