 Info |
| Address The Hideout 7 Upper James Street London W1R 3HF / UK P: 020 7437 4929 Labels Acronym, Gimme 5, Good Enough, Headporter, Medicom, Neighborhood, PAM, Resonate, Supreme, Tonite, UnRivaled, Visvim, w)taps, etc. |
Related |
Slides
The
Hideout
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Not just a story about the impressive new refurbishment they have undertaken, but an insight into who's involved in one of the foremost street-style stores in the world.
For the uninitiated The Hideout opened it's doors on one of the less salubrious streets (also latterly the home of the UK's only Busy Work Shop) in Soho circa 1999. It came to fruition as a result of the creator's many visits to Japan, resulting in a desire to bring some of the emerging street-wear brands back to the UK.
That gentleman was Michael Kopelman, who started the store originally called 'Hit and Run' with Fraser Cooke (now at Nike) running the show. It soon became a Mecca for the young, and those old enough to know better to purchase brands such as Let It Ride, Supreme, Good Enough, BAPE, and Nike samples, as it was a Nike probe store.
Fast forward to October 2004 and we're sat in the basement storeroom with the man who took the manager's mantle from Fraser, Richard Airey, and Andrew Bunney who works across all of the brands represented by Gimme 5 (the clothing label, and company who run the Stüssy Store, representing them across Europe, run the BWS, own Foot Patrol, produce Good Enough UK, and distribute Visvim and Rockwell).
Interview
What was the reason for the refurbishment?
Richard: Mainly because it needed it! We felt that the original interior was a bit tired, and we actually carry more brands than we did originally, so we focused on creating a bit more display space without making the shop too cluttered.
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Check out the slides to see how the store has fully embraced its name by using a Wild West hideout theme. When you look at the store from the outside it gives the feeling of a saloon/farm house/barn from way back in lawless America. The wood used has been specifically treated so that it weathers and ages, adding to the overall shack-like effect.
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What new brands should we watch out for?
Richard: For the new brands, for me the one really to watch is Acronym, it's a very technical clothing label. The guy who does it has great knowledge in regards to the equipment of various armed- and special forces, and he designs for the top end of the snowboarding clothing producers.
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Richard enthuses about the futuristic fabrics Acronym used, the fact that having a relationship with the German army meant that all the latest fasteners, waterproofing techniques, were coupled with top quality design and manufacture.
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What collaborations are hot this season?
Richard: It's not necessary a collaboration, but just sort of slightly side tracking, where one modern company might decide to use an old traditional fabric maker or that sort of thing. Good Enough in Japan have just recently done a jacket with Harris Tweed the old English fabric manufacturer, which is really interesting.
Andrew: I'd say that in terms of collaboration, Visvim will have some interesting collaborations coming out soon. And for me Headporter Plus.
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Other brands to keep on your radar are, aNYthing, UnRivaled (born out of Let it Ride), and the collaborations between Hiroshi Fujiwara and Neighborhood/Fragment designs.
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What's the story behind UnRivaled?
Richard: My view on UnRivaled is that in terms of production and quality it's probably one of the best labels out there. It's absolutely amazingly well produced, all the fabric sourcing is done very, very well. As to their vibe... it's a little bit less graphic based, it is a little bit of a more mature label. I think it's one of the more undiscovered labels in London.
You are currently developing your The Hideout website. What are your plans for online?
Andrew: Firstly it acts as an introduction to The Hideout and will provide more information on some of the brands we carry. People get fixated on certain things, and then they have got no idea about anything else. One aspect is to introduce stuff to people, another aspect of it... I mean a store like this is quite hardcore in a way as we're selling brands that people don't know about, you know, we could be selling things that are very easy to sell, but that isn't really the point. With the website we want to be able to explain that ethos if you like, and we're going to have a page where some of our friends talk about whatever they want to talk about.
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We chewed the fat over many other issues, like Stüssy being the godfathers, disillusioned kids who want to be the next Nigo, the industry representing an extended family of like-minded designers who enjoy working together on exclusive projects.
Suffice to say the gents are straight up people who have a genuine passion for what they do, and provide it in a vastly knowledgeable way, which is how it should be.
Adrian J W Darby for Beinghunted.
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Beinghunted says thanks for the interview and all the best for the store and new website!
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