Shop:Case – Ann Demeulemeester Flagship in Antwerp

Fashion, Retail

It was with great trepidation that I first walked into the Ann Demeulemeester flagship store in Antwerp in 2001. It was on my first trip to Europe. I was twenty-five, and I was backpacking, reclaiming my American right of passage, about seven years too late, but I had no money before that. It’s safe to say that I was probably the only backpacker this summer to stop over in Antwerp to go shopping for fashion. But it was the highlight of my trip. I stuffed my backpack into a locker at the magnificent Antwerp train station, and made a beeline for Louis, followed by Dries Van Noten, and then a long walk down Nationalstraat to Ann Demeulemeester, saving the best for last. I don’t remember why, but I only bought a belt there, which I still wear. “Just the belt?” the salesperson ask, probably not meaning to embarrass me.

Mad et Len Opens Paris Store

Design, Retail

Our favorite fragrance makers, Mad et Len, like to do things quietly. And so was it with their first standalone shop, which opened without fanfare after this past women’s fashion week in Paris. The store is located in one of the few remaining Parisian shopping arcades near Palais Royal, and it is a wonderful entry…

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BORIS BIDJAN SABERI BARCELONA SHOP

Fashion, Retail

Boris Bidjan Saberi, whose meticulously and complexly constructed menswear graces the racks of carefully picked boutiques around the world, has quietly opened his own boutique in Barcelona, his adapted hometown, some time ago. It is nestled in the industrial district of Poblenou, Barcelona’s once run-down textile industry hub that is now enjoying a renaissance and that still has large industrial spaces suited to Saberi’s vision. It is his only boutique besides his New York City outpost.