Continuing my discourse on how skate-y, hypebeast-y brands are winning at retail, here’s a quick look at Champion’s recently opened NYC store. The Soho store is banking on a storytelling approach, enlightening younger customers to Champion’s 100-year sports heritage with display cases of archive pieces and flagging up its signature innovations such as ‘Reverse Weave’ sweatshirts. (more…)
Every so often a label appears out of nowhere that piques my interest. Acephala is one of them. A four-year-old Polish brand that’s rooted in women’s rights with conceptual inspirations that are more wonky than worthy.
For example, its SS18 collection entitled ‘on how to be creative and not get mad’ championed ‘work wear’ pieces in Japanese denim, virgin wool and anti-crease tech fabrics. (more…)
“On the day to day, we are a lot more synonymous to being fashion designers, but we’re also still interested in asking these questions and engaging with our audience in a way that isn’t strictly about commerce. We’re so honored that our world has allowed us to do that.”
This looks like a good exhibition by Zoe Latta (quoted above) and Mike Eckhaus, aka fashion designers Eckhaus Latta, just opened at the Whitney Museum of American Art. (more…)
The skatewear industry is one of the few niches managing to circumnavigate the plummeting shifting bricks and mortar retail landscape. Last weekend I went to Soho’s Brewer Street to witness the annual pop-up tour from Basement Approved, an online streetwear community that has evolved into a 360 proposition of physical merch, parties and pop-ups. Outside the appointed retail unit, a small gathering of scruffy-beautiful skate kids milled about guzzling Red Stripe and doing whatever young people do on their phones these days. (more…)
