The Old Curiosity Shop, 13-14 Portsmouth Street, London WC2;
www.theoldcuriosityshoplondon.com; +44 (0) 20 7405 9891.
Pulling out all the stops by taking over a London literary landmark (the Old Curiosity Shop was referenced in the Dickens novel of the same name), Blaak have opted for the unreplicatable for their first retail space.
Built circa 1567, the shop was constructed from ships’ timbers and is in fact the oldest in London. So what better (or more fitting) gift could Aaron Sharif and Sachiko Okada, the label’s designers, give themselves to celebrate 10 years in the business?
“Homogenisation is everywhere, as you know,” tell Sharif and Okada. “[What we have] is a shop where we can offer an experience that is something special. The space is a celebration of individualism, it stands alone.”
In fact, the Old Curiosity Shop has been the atelier of their friend, shoe designer Daita Kimura, since 1993. Kimura has, in return, collaborated with the label on their hard-edged, intense autumn/winter 08 show, ‘Buffalo Soldier’, which is in store now.
Stocked alongside the collection of neo-punk, cable-knit biker jackets and tartan suits, dandy handmade hats and ravey hologram belts are sunglasses by Oliver Goldsmith for Blaak Homme as well as Daita’s own line of handmade shoes. “Plus, as we progress with the space, more ideas will be realised,” the duo add cryptically.
The interior was originally designed by Fritz [of Frick n Frack, who designed homes for both Boy George and Björk] in 1993. “And every piece of material used was found, or chosen to serve a specific purpose within the space,” Blaak explain. “It is a true testimony to the space, and we wanted to maintain this legacy, heightening its beauty without changing its spirit.” Additional fittings were commissioned to Max Lamb, who Sharif and Okada confess they love because his work “is at the edge of beauty and ugly, where we seek our aesthetic in fashion. And his work is very complimentary to both ours and the space in a funny way. It’s perfect.”
“The Shop will always create some kind of dialogue with what goes into it,” Sharif and Okada summarise. “You’ll never imagine what is inside from looking at the outside... This is what makes it so special.”
DMD
