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Champion courts hypebeast culture for its New York store



Champion New York opens in SoHo featuring archive pieces and limited editions

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…)



Culture and community – how skate brands win at retail



Oktyabr multibrand skate shop in Moscow conceived by upstart brand Rassvet - Pic by Hypebeast

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…)