Intimidated? You’re welcome
An alternative thought to last Thursday’s post about the cosy conviviality of the Alaïa cafe-bookshop.
Reading Sheila Rock’s excellent 2020 photo book, Young Punks, her photo of the decidedly uninviting facade of Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren’s 1976 SEX shop (above) revealed an audacious weirdness with intimidating appeal that lured people in out of sheer curiosity.
Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock said that the plywood, rubber latex and plastic sheeting sign was meant to look like a Robert Rauschenberg sculpture (those art school kids!). But the jarring plastic pink and incongruous name made it look more like an establishment for deviant behaviour than a fashion store.
Mr hand-on-hip certainly seemed to think so.
I know we can’t expect uber-luxury stores to shock us with such tactics. But in 2025, I wonder if independent fashion retailers are ready to employ some of this unnerving intimidation je ne sais quoi to bring back a sense of thrill.
Not since 2004 (with Rei Kawakubo’s first ‘guerilla store’ in East Berlin) have we seen fashion retail veer far from the minimalist-art-gallery playbook established by Armani and co. 20 years later, might we be ready for a more challenging retail experience to entice us over the threshold?
WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: Young Punks /Sheila Rock
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here
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