IDOL Brooklyn and the Art of Retail
September 29th, 2024
Text: Bryan Law
Text: Bryan Law
Good retail spaces and the people behind them are supposed to educate you and challenge the way you look at a brand and their respective catalogue.
Source: The New York Times
Ven Space
With the recent opening of Ven Space, a multi-brand boutique in the heart of Caroll Gardens in Brooklyn - it got me thinking about the current state of retail in New York and the rest of the world.
Ven Space brings me excitement and glee because of its impeccable curation and perspective. Perspective meaning an unlikely selection of brands that happen to sit next to one other and a high-low dynamic that makes sense, and boy do I love a good high-low dynamic. Stüssy Archive and A. Presse are in cahoots with The Row and Taiga Takahashi.
Source: WWD
Although I have unfortunately not visited the store yet, the brand list on the website as well as some press release photos and the occasional Instagram story has got me salivating and overwhelmed with a sense of insatiable curiosity - which is only intensified by their lack of a web store (a bold, but welcome move in today’s Internet-fueled climate).
Idol Brooklyn
This feeling that Ven Space gives me has got me thinking and reminiscing of another boutique of yesteryear which real heads should recognize: IDOL Brooklyn. IDOL was another multi-brand boutique that opened around 2014 and shuttered its doors right before COVID in the beginning of 2020 (good timing I suppose). Shuffled behind a discreet storefront with zero signage, the small space forced the good owners of IDOL (shout out Alex, Wei, and Danny) to curate a sharp selection which reflected each of their respective tastes. The brand list consisted of cult Japanese labels like Undercover, TAKAHIROMIYASHITA The Soloist (yes, all caps), Visvim, Cav Empt, as well as avant-garde, artisanal labels like A1923, Label Under Construction, and Taichi Murakami.
This isn’t SSENSE we’re talking about - where multi-million dollar budgets and “data-driven” buying decisions run the game. Small boutiques have much more to lose which is why a ballsy endeavor like IDOL for the North American consumer demands that much more respect. This is on the other side of the spectrum where buyers simply follow their gut and buy what they want. As Noel Gallagher so famously said: The customer doesn’t know what the fuck he wants… You fucking give it to him!
Source: Some random blog on Naver
Upon entering IDOL, I was greeted by a heavily tattooed white guy and a Chinese dude with a very deep voice. I would later know them as Alex and Wei. Wei walked me through the store and chatted with me about the clothes. Very rarely do you find this kind of genuine hospitality and warmth in a store that sells $5000 cashmere jackets and $1800 leather shoes. Upon speaking with Alex and Wei (and later Danny), you realize that these dudes know exactly what they’re talking about. They possess a unique knowledge that comes from being passionate veterans in the industry who are intimately involved in every aspect of their business. I ended up buying a pair of Guidi 788 Back-Zips, as some would know Guidi is the gateway drug that would lead to Carol Christian Poell, MA+, Paul Harnden and so on. This purchase would be the start of a fruitful, mutually beneficial relationship where I would give them my money and they would give me wonderfully made footwear and clothing.
To say IDOL contributed to my personal style evolution and growth would be an understatement. They put me on to some crazy shit I never knew existed or wouldn’t look twice at. What was particularly impressive was their approach to buying avant-garde. For those who aren’t familiar, avant-garde tends to be bathed in an inky blackness - garment-dyed, oily waxed head-ass Boris Bidjan Saberi jeans or prosthetic metal Carol Christian Poell boots were usually in a dark monochromatic shade. The fit also tends to be overwhelmingly slim - veering into Hedi territory. But with the folks at IDOL, their selection of avant-garde was slightly wider and drapier, colors brighter and shapes more bulbous and/or voluminous. Their curation of the labels seasonal collections felt like a direct line of communication to what the designers wanted to design but couldn’t as they still needed to cater to their core audience.
With all that being said - the clothes at IDOL felt right at home next to each other. Acronym trench coats would be on the rack next to some Visvim liner jackets and Raf Simons knitwear. Some hardcore, brolic as hell Taichi Murakami Un-Norwegian Derbies placed below a rack of Undercover and Haider Ackermann.
The Good Retail Experience
Good retail spaces and the people behind them are supposed to educate you and challenge the way you look at a brand and their respective catalogue. A good retail experience tends to re-contextualize the clothes, placing them in a light that the masses were previously unaware of. Special retail experiences like Ven Space and IDOL and are an essential part of this insane hobby of inconspicuous consumption and should be cherished.
In most circumstances, the smaller the store - the better and more authentic it feels. With small businesses, there’s less involvement from different parties so the space and curation end up being a direct reflection of the owner’s tastes. Sure, the SSENSE and Mr. Porter seasonal sales do indeed hit - but they are genuinely the Amazon.com of jawnz. Buying from a gigantic e-commerce entity essentially eradicates the relationship and conversation that happens during old school acts of commerce.
The personal touch, the stories behind each piece, and the shared passion and curiosity are all lost in the digital transaction. Small boutiques like IDOL and Ven Space offer more than just clothes; they provide an experience, a community, and a curated perspective that simply can't be replicated by algorithms or mass-market strategies.
Source: 1 Granary
This human element is what makes these spaces so special and irreplaceable in the fashion ecosystem. Collections (especially those from bigger brands like Prada, Dries Van Noten, Jil Sander, etc.) can be expansive - catering to a range of consumers with different tastes. This is where discerning retail comes into play - these retail spaces cut through the fat and excess to arrive at a core point of view and product. Sifting through 10 pages of Prada sure can be fun - but what’s even more intriguing is browsing 20 pieces of accessories, clothes, and footwear carefully selected by the team at The Broken Arm. Selecting 20-ish pieces from a seasonal collection that likely contains 500+ items is no small task, and it serves as a reminder that curation still exists in a time of abundance and extravagance - when everyone and their mother is starting a label or running a vintage business and stores continually having a brand list that takes 4 minutes to scroll through.
The Sad State of Retail at Home
I was going to write a few hundred words about the exasperated, tired, and failed state of interesting retail in Hong Kong but I’ll leave that for another time. Peace!