The New York retail scene is seeing an influx of new men’s fashion stores this fall that focus on in-store experiences and engaging with customers.
Many men’s fashion brands are looking to lower Manhattan for their retail stores, such as streetwear labels Le Père, Alpha Industries and Paper Planes, which have opened shops across the neighborhood. Each store embodies the brands’ design ethos and aims to serve as a community hub for customers.
In the Flatiron District, The Groom Shop has opened a location to help men get ready for their wedding day, offering ready-to-wear and made-to-measure options alongside a 12-foot bar designed in an Art Deco style.
Here, WWD rounds up five men’s fashion stores opening in New York City this fall.
Le Père
Location: 90 Orchard Street
Streetwear brand Le Père opened its first flagship location earlier this month just a year and a half after launching the brand. Founder Ryan Wright explained this was the right time for the brand to expand into retail to give customers an in-person touchpoint to the label, as well as have a community hub in a central location where Le Père could host events. Wright stated the brand chose the location because many of its friends and collaborators are in the area.
“We would be looking in SoHo, NoLIta and Bond Street — we looked at a lot of different places and we noticed that we would come back here to have a drink or go for dinner,” he said. “A lot of events we’ve done, we’ve done down here. We were like, ‘Why are we going up there if actually we want to hang out down here?’ So we said, ‘let’s look for a space in the Lower East Side,’ and this one came up and for us it was the perfect corner.”
The 1,000-square-foot store showcases a large assortment of the brand’s offerings, which are created through a series of collaborations with friends of Le Père. The store also debuted the brand’s new spring 2024 campaign, which features model Anwar Hadid.
Paper Planes
Location: 252 Lafayette Street
Roc Nation-owned streetwear label Paper Planes opened its first permanent storefront this month after experimenting with pop-ups across the U.S. The storefront is meant to fully engage the brand’s customers as it’s the first time Paper Planes has been able to showcase its full product assortment to further its mission of being a head-to-toe fashion brand beyond its signature hats.
Since the brand launched nine years ago, Paper Planes’ distribution strategy has been to work with small boutiques across the U.S. Earlier this year, president Ronnie DeMichael told WWD the brand plans to shift its strategy to include its own retail, as well as enter department stores.
“We chose SoHo for our first store location because it is a great shopping neighborhood with strong foot traffic and a daily flow of both local customers and visiting tourists,” DeMichael said. “This week, we have already had customers from Singapore, the U.K., Argentina and beyond visit the store to shop along with our fellow New Yorkers, all of whom are excited to experience the full collection and our collaborations in person.”
In addition to its recent collections, the Paper Planes store offers in-store exclusives, such as new iterations of the Paper Planes Fine Artist Collaboration series. The brand introduced this collection in August with a collaboration with artist Jammie Holmes.
Alpha Industries
Location: 290 Lafayette Street
Alpha Industries opened its first retail store in a 1,700-square foot space in SoHo, which is meant to reflect the brand’s streetwear origins and connect with the neighborhood’s art, music and fashion scene.
“For 64 years, Alpha Industries has combined utility and style,” said Matt Pantoja, chief brand officer at Alpha Industries. “Our new Alpha store in New York’s SoHo district brings that purpose and utility to life. The location supports Alpha’s mission to have the store serve as a cultural hub, rooted in an area that’s intrinsically representative of art, music, fashion and street culture.”
The store will offer both men’s and women’s products, collaborations and limited-edition styles, as well as offerings from the brand’s Re:Supply program, which offers a selection of military-inspired styles.
The store’s opening coincides with Alpha Industries’ 64th anniversary, which is further celebrated with a new campaign that highlights the brand’s popular MA-1 bomber jacket.
The permanent storefront comes after Alpha Industries opened a 3,000-square-foot pop-up store in SoHo last year. Similar to the pop-up, the permanent location will also offer customization activations and upcycling workshops.
The Groom Shop
Location: 111 W. 20th Street
Michael Andrews Bespoke has become a fixture over the past two decades for Fortune 500 executives, celebrities and other well-heeled men seeking one-of-a-kind wardrobe items. And now Andrews, who boasts that he is the largest custom tailor in New York, has turned his attention to grooms.
On Thursday, he opened The Groom Shop, a new retail concept focused exclusively on formalwear for grooms and their groomsmen located directly across the street from the famed Kleinfeld Bridal store. It carries both ready-to-wear and made-to-measure clothing plus an extensive selection of accessories such as bowties, cummerbunds and velvet slippers.
The ready-to-wear collection consists of classic black and midnight blue tuxedos available as separates in 40 sizes, from 36 short to 50 long. Also on display are more than 40 signature Michael Andrews looks that can be made-to-measure, with delivery in under four weeks. These designs include mohair tuxedos, brocade dinner jackets and velvet smoking jackets.
“Men are very visual, so we took the guessing game out of the equation by creating the largest selection of formalwear designs on display in New York City,“ said Andrews. “We wanted to bring as many options under one roof as possible so no matter the type of affair, a groom can see something that inspires him. There are literally hundreds of bridal boutiques in the city but nothing for the groom — until now.”
The store design draws inspiration from the golden age of Hollywood and includes an Art Deco-style chandelier and a 12-foot bar with antiqued mirrored panels, fluted brass and natural green stone. The inaugural window display was designed in collaboration with wedding designer David Beahm.
Paris Laundry
Location: 5 Harrison Street
New York-based brand Paris Laundry, created by Guy Samuel, opened an 800-square-foot space in the Tribeca neighborhood this month, the company’s first permanent storefront.
Samuel, who is a native New Yorker, said of the location: “While cruising through Tribeca, we lucked out and found this amazing corner spot at Harrison and Staple streets. It’s like the streets whispered secrets of old New York. We were just out here looking for a showroom in SoHo/Tribeca, but man, this spot? It’s got a vibe and is full of stories. It presented us with a chance to open our first retail boutique.”
The store is opening with the brand’s full fall collection in addition to art and vintage pieces such as Louis Vuitton trunks from the 1800s and Rick Owens Dunks from the 2000s. It also features an in-house print shop as well as an embroidery and embellishment studio so customers can create personalized pieces.
The core Paris Laundry collection features leathers and chains intended to evoke a true New York aesthetic, and unisex apparel made in New York from luxury fabrics sourced from Italy, Portugal and Japan, as well as accessories. Prices range from $175 to $1,600.
The brand, which has been seen on celebrities including Future and Offset, is also carried at The Webster in New York.
Samuel said he has plans to add more stores over the next three years. “We have not settled on a location yet, but we would be interested in opening in the Miami Design District and Los Angeles. Hopefully Paris becomes an option and we are also looking into a Milan pop-up for early 2024. To be continued….”