With fast fashion, three-hour shipping and the world’s biggest brands just a click away, it’s no wonder that most people shop for clothes online.
And while it’s convenient as hell, what’s been lost is the experience: Trekking to different stores to hunt down a particular item, building a rapport with the owner of your favourite boutique, and digging through crates of product to find an unexpected gem. All those interactions have largely gone out the window with the expansion of online space and more mega-stores landing in Australia, but The Stitch Up is one store looking to resurrect those experiences.
Started by Sydney mates Alex & Kirk, the Newtown space is looking to launch a place where people can come through, hang out, and cop some vintage sportswear, sneakers, toys and other relics from decades past. They’re looking to build a community through a shared love of these items – buying, selling and trading at their store – while also hosting frequent events and competitions.
Having built up a sizeable backlog of swoosh-heavy and three-striped items, The Stitch Up will open this Saturday, December 15 at 583 King Street, Newtown. Ahead of the date, we chat to Alex and Kirk about the retail experience, what to expect at the store, and Sydney’s biggest style icons:
What inspired you guys to open The Stitch Up?
Stores like Round Two and Generation Cool in the States, plus the stupidly high price tags of second-hand garments around Sydney that left us with a sour taste in our mouths. There’s no real place that that you feel comfortable to hang and talk with people about what you are buying, it seems everyone’s trying to flog shit for quick cash. We wanted a store we wanted to go to, and there’s a hole in the market that we can fill.
How would you compare the Stitch Up to other retails experiences in Sydney?
It’s not like anything else in Sydney, what we are going for is a space to meet like minded people and hang out, talk about what they’re about to cop, learn a bit of history – not necessarily make tonnes of bank and rush customers in and out. The only thing I could compare it to is TLD Tattoo in Gymea, somewhere you can kick back and chew the fat.
What are some of the highlight items/brands that you have in stock already?
Many rare sample shoes, a Virtual Boy, tonnes of vintage Nike and Adidas, Salem NBA shirts, stupid designer shit and much, much more.
Your store has a big focus on 90s to 2000s vintage. What are some of the big fashion movements/subcultures which have spawned your love for this era?
Sydney city lad culture, 90s hip hop, Y2K fashion, baggy skate gear and growing up in the era.
What are some of the big changes in fashion/trends you’ve seen in Sydney recently?
Big dad shoe craze is wack as fuck and the Supreme hype is overrated, overnight hype is crazy and through the roof! It’s ridiculous.
Name five of Sydney’s biggest style icons?
Skeaz Lauren aka Polo King of Australia, Jonas Smith, the both of us combined into one human, and that’s it really. Everyone dresses the same.
The sneaker community in Sydney is also growing locally at an exponential rate. Right now, it seems to be all about retro runners and high-end obnoxiousness. What do you think is going to be the next hype?
It’s going to cycle through runners till they run out of shit to retro, then back to Jordans. Hopefully Yeezys die.
What have you got planned for The Stitch Up in 2019?
Monthly swap meets, gaming competitions, sneaker events and much more.
