Tag: Concept

  • Rock & Roll DTC Retail Concept ‘Clocks and Colours’ Opens 1st Storefront in Toronto [Photos/Interview]

    Rock & Roll DTC Retail Concept ‘Clocks and Colours’ Opens 1st Storefront in Toronto [Photos/Interview]

    Clocks and Colours caters to men interested in rock & roll, motorcycles, tattoos and barber shop cultures.

    Originally designed as an online direct to consumer business, the retailer has opened a new storefront in Ossington in Toronto with plans to launch the brand as well into the United States.

    Shane Vitaly Foran, CEO, said the concept began in 2013.

    Shane Vitaly Foran

    “I actually started another brand called Vitaly. That was my first brand 12 years ago and started building that. After about two years it had kind of found a place in the electronic music world, the bar crowd, which is fine. But it’s not really my background. My background was rock & roll, tattoos, motorcycles, that kind of a world. So I decided to start a second brand that lived in that universe and that world and that was Clocks and Colours.

    “At its core, at its foundation, it really is a rock & roll brand. I wanted to create a brand that had extremely high quality products but were fair. What I found is you could either get garbage just like straight up costume jewelry at five or 10 dollars at a side stand type thing or everything being made for that world was astronomically expensive, not even aspirational. It was just ridiculous. So I wanted to fill that gap and that’s what I’ve done.”

    Clocks + Colours Ossington (Image: Clocks + Colours)

    The company’s primary offering is mid-tier sterling silver jewelry that is hand-crafted in Bali. 

    “We’ve got a couple of wholesale accounts but it’s never really been part of the business,” said Foran.

    The new flagship is at 154 Ossington Avenue. 

    “It’s basically exactly where I’ve always wanted to have a store for the brand. I think it’s the perfect home for Clocks and Colours. Ossington has kind of always been the street in Toronto that’s reflected my values. It has cafes and the retail stores that I like, the restaurants and bars that I like. It just felt like the right home,” said Foran.

    Clocks + Colours Ossington (Image: Clocks + Colours)
    Clocks + Colours Ossington (Image: Clocks + Colours)

    “It has that rock & roll sensibility but at the same time people are relatively well put together and are quite aware of fashion and style. It checked all the boxes for Clocks and Colours.

    “We’ve always wanted to open a store. For a long time we didn’t feel like we had a big enough product assortment and we also just didn’t feel the brand was ready but the reality is that our product is incredibly high quality and it’s one of those things where you can see photos of stuff but often you can’t really tell how impressive something is until you pick it up. Another thing too is a lot of our products are not cheap. Some of our pieces are $2000 so I think for people to spend that much sometimes they just want to see it in person, try it on. We wanted to have an ability for people to physically engage with the product that way but at the same time we really wanted to have a place where we could really drive home our culture and create community.”

    Foran said the retail store is very strategically set up. There’s a Harley Davidson in the front window, signaling its motorcycle background. There’s a photo gallery that is a huge part of the brand’s DNA. There’s also at the back an entire setup for a band with guitars, amps, showcasing its rock & roll DNA. And there’s a section for Peter McKinnon’s brand Pirate Life.

    Clocks + Colours Ossington (Image: Clocks + Colours)

    “We really wanted to have a space where we could tell that story and show people what we’re all about, host events so that people can come see what we’re actually like,” he said.

    The Ossington store is about 1,200 square feet.

    Foran said the retailer wants to open more stores. A goal is to look next south of the border at places like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, potentially Austin.

    “Those are all pretty serious considerations for us right now,” he added.

  • Virgil Abloh’s Louis Vuitton Concept Store Boosts Digital Only Men’s Paris Fashion Week

    In his first Paris residency for the Louis Vuitton collection Virgil Abloh helms, the men’s Artistic Director honed-in on one of the few places left where folks can safely gather; a retail concept store, to celebrate the luxury brand’s male universe. But he didn’t stop there adding another spot people can safely intermingle – a custom-made outdoor “skate adventure” park as well as connecting fans where they have been the last year, online, with a digital AR experience. Collectively the events were dubbed “Louis Vuitton: A Walk in the Park”. The activations cumulated with the Fall-Winter 2021 collection that laid the groundwork for rich creative marketing material for the retail goods come fall.

    House Residency

    Earlier this month, the high concept temporary store opened. Based in the former Conforama adjacent to the Louis Vuitton corporate headquarters on Rue Pont Neuf, the space was converted into a colorful journey to discover the Spring 2021 men’s collection and exclusive accessories. A rainbow-effect of painted rafters and walls recalled the runway that Abloh created for his first Vuitton collection. Custom mannequins based on male models from past shows and ‘Zoooom with Friends’ characters from the Spring 2021 show (namely Joe the dog and the dragon character) displayed the looks.

    The residency focused on a series of ‘Hall of Fame’ sneakers; five rare styles of the LV trainers reissued for the occasion. According to a company spokesperson, several styles of sneakers have sold-out within the first week, such as the Paris colorway style, which offered 95 pairs for sale. Ditton for exclusive versions of the Cuban-style chain necklaces specific to global cities and a sunglass reissue.

    Along with clothing, sneakers, jewelry, sunglasses, and trunks on hand to sell, Abloh offered an immersive experience of curated books, a customization table for initials or designs painted on leather goods, and art from skater Lucien Clarke. The Jamaican-bord skateboarder was recently signed to develop the brand’s first proper skate sneaker. Abloh also created the soundtrack on the sound system.

    During its two-week tenure, Paris adjusted its local curfew from 8 pm to 6 pm, but that didn’t deter guests, who snaked around the corner on opening weekend. Adhering to strict health guidelines, visitors allowed in the store at once is limited to 30 people. A weekday midday visit showed about fifteen people waiting to enter while respecting safety measures with bustling sales activity inside.

    More Immersive Experiences

    In addition to the store, which sits across from the soon-to-be-opened LVMH-owned La Samaritaine retail and hotel complex, the residency gave way to a luxury marble’ skate adventure’ park slash art installation by Gallery Kreo just before the fall fashion show. Ideally, within the confines of current health guidelines, Abloh intended to make a place where youth could gather outside. Simultaneously, an AR experience launched that featured ‘Zoooom with friends’ characters climbing out of the Place Vendome store’s windows

    Fall’s digital runway

    The final component of the January celebration of the Louis Vuitton men’s offerings was the Fall 2021 collection show. Much like the Spring 2021 show, this show will offer a plethora of retail marketing gold nuggets to choose from. While the industry weighs whether the shows need to be in person or not, Abloh proves he can communicate even more digitally. The luxury brand had initially been planned for a live show for local press and buyers but pivoted to a fully digital presentation in light of Paris’ ongoing ban on gatherings of more than six people due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

    Billed as a “multi-disciplinary artistic expression of ideas investigated within the collection,” according to the show notes, the Fall-Winter 2021 Men’s show involved several arts – poetry, dance, and song – to convey Abloh’s point of view for clothes, collaborative spirit and beyond. Inspired by James Baldwin’s 1953 essay “Stranger in the Village,” the show was captured in Switzerland and Paris. Saul Williams represented the African American poet and de facto narrator of the show as he represented one of several male archetypes the designer portrayed in the show. Abloh’s models also embodied the drifter, the artist, the salesman, the architect and so forth to further explain. The morphed visual experience that turned from snowscape to a marble set also featured dancing by Josh Johnson, music from Yasiin Bey, and the first trans man to walk in a Louis Vuitton show, gender poet and activist Kai Isaiah Jamal, who penned and read poetry recited during the show as well.

    Retail Highlights

    The offerings played upon those male fashion tropes with plenty of tailored looks – a sign of hope for an office life return? Abloh interprets these classic pieces, tailored jackets, pants, and overcoats in new elongated and oversized silhouettes. Reimagined Kente cloth as a tartan plaid was prevalent and a new twist on a classic fabrication. His Spring 2021 collection whimsy returned. only this time via 3D cloth shapes in the form of buildings affixed onto jackets, surely to become rare collector items. In reimagining these basic wardrobe styles, the designer questions common notions on design ownership with his ‘Tourist vs. Purist’ theory. In it he maintains there are “those who observe and aspire towards a domain of knowledge, and those who inhabit it,” according to show notes. Louis Vuitton is also pushing upcycling, which debuted last season and, according to Abloh via show notes, refers to three ideas. First, to reusing existing materials, next to recycling ideas, and last to rehashing pieces from previous collections in a new manner. Accessories are a key component of any Vuitton collection. In accessories, Abloh delivered on a duffle style bag, a boxy portfolio, and totes bearing a show theme.