Racked: All Posts by Chris BlackThe National Shopping, Stores, and Retail Scene Bloghttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52809/32x32.0..png2016-11-29T14:02:00-05:00https://www.racked.com/authors/chris-black/rss2016-11-29T14:02:00-05:002016-11-29T14:02:00-05:00The Magic of Magasin
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<figcaption> The Magasin storefront. | Photo: Chris Black</figcaption>
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<p class="c-entry-disclaimer"><i>Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods">The Goods by Vox</a>. You can also see what we’re up to by <a href="https://vox.com/goods-newsletter">signing up here</a>.</i></p>
<p>The former Bloomingdale’s men’s fashion director strikes out on his own.</p> <p id="ATix0u">Josh Peskowitz, the former men’s fashion director at <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1514733&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww1.bloomingdales.com%2F&referrer=racked.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.racked.com%2F2016%2F11%2F29%2F13406492%2Fmagasin-store-josh-peskowitz" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Bloomingdale’s</a> and a true menswear legend, surprised everyone by decamping to the West Coast last year. He left to open his first store, <a href="https://www.magasinthestore.com/">Magasin</a>, in Culver City, California. It’s a place for men who might want to learn more about their clothing and how it is made — but ultimately, it’s a place for men who want to buy something cool.</p>
<p id="shSS3B">“Look, I never thought that if I was going to leave New York it would be for Los Angeles,” Peskowitz insists. After all, Peskowitz was born in Brooklyn and raised in Washington, DC — he’s an East Coast lifer. When he was still a student at the University of Delaware, he fell into a job at <em>The Fader</em>, where he got a crash course in styling and writing. </p>
<p id="Ds8wWw">He then went to <em>Cargo</em>, working under <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1514733&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bergdorfgoodman.com%2F&referrer=racked.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.racked.com%2F2016%2F11%2F29%2F13406492%2Fmagasin-store-josh-peskowitz" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Bergdorf Goodman</a>‘s men’s fashion director Bruce Pask. Then it was onto <em>Esquire</em> and Style.com’s men’s section, which later would melt into working for <em>GQ</em>’s online team. He then took a position at Gilt Groupe, where he was tasked with launching an editorial men’s site called Park & Bond. It got off the ground, but never really found its footing and was shut down after a little over a year. His last job working for someone else was also his most high-profile gig to date, serving as the men’s fashion director of Bloomingdale’s, where he kept the storied retailer’s men’s business interesting and cool. </p>
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<cite>Photo: Chris Black</cite>
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<p id="TWxcsq">In March 2016, along with his partners and co-owners of the showroom CD Network Christophe Desmaison and Simon Golby, Peskowitz opened Magasin in a 1,600-square-foot space on Washington Boulevard in Culver City. It’s situated within the Platform, a modern industrial new development that features a colorful mural by LA-based artist Jen Stark on its facade. Platform has 50,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space that houses stores like <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1514733&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aesop.com%2Fusa%2Fskin-care.html&referrer=racked.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.racked.com%2F2016%2F11%2F29%2F13406492%2Fmagasin-store-josh-peskowitz" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Aesop</a>, <a href="http://us.lindafarrow.com/">Linda Farrow</a>, and <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1514733&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tomdixon.net%2Fspace%2Fpost%2Fcurve-platform-la-9%2F%3F___store%3Dus&referrer=racked.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.racked.com%2F2016%2F11%2F29%2F13406492%2Fmagasin-store-josh-peskowitz" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">The Shop</a>, a collaborative retailer between <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1514733&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tomdixon.net%2F&referrer=racked.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.racked.com%2F2016%2F11%2F29%2F13406492%2Fmagasin-store-josh-peskowitz" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Tom Dixon</a> and Curve that combines furniture, clothing, and food. You can take a Soulcycle class, get a salad at Sweetgreen, and have a latte from Blue Bottle Coffee all without leaving the grounds. </p>
<p id="09uX1g">When I sit with Peskowitz for lunch at Lukshon a few blocks away from Magasin, he is relaxed and happy talking shop. “It’s primarily Italian and Japanese brands with attention to tailored clothing,” he said. “Then we have some more off-the-wall shit, but when we merchandise the store, we try to put it all in context." That means the Japanese label <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1514733&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mrporter.com%2Fen-us%2Fmens%2Fdesigners%2Fcamoshita&referrer=racked.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.racked.com%2F2016%2F11%2F29%2F13406492%2Fmagasin-store-josh-peskowitz" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Camoshita</a> sits next to <a href="http://www.salvatorepiccolo.com/">Salvatore Piccolo</a>, which hails from Italy. Throw in <a href="https://levis.pfm4.net/c/482924/366459/5398?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.levi.com%2FUS%2Fen_US%2F&sharedid=racked.com" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Levi’s</a>, <a href="http://xlarge.com/">X-Large</a>, and <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1514733&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.endclothing.com%2Fus%2Fbrands%2Fyuketen&referrer=racked.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.racked.com%2F2016%2F11%2F29%2F13406492%2Fmagasin-store-josh-peskowitz" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Yuketen</a>, and the selection is fun and eclectic. “We’re not selling things that are flash-in-the-pans,” he said. “None of this shit is going out of style anytime soon, it’s about building that wardrobe long-term. The only two things that matter when it comes to men’s clothing are craftsmanship and innovation. That’s where good stories come from. If you’re going to be investing in clothing, you want to know why."</p>
<p id="XEw72x">Peskowitz and his partners are also collaborating with brands on pieces that are only available at Magasin. One of those collaborators is Ermanno Lazzarin, who owns an innovative men’s shop located on Corso Como in Milan called <a href="http://www.eral55.com/">Eral 55</a>. Lazzarin is a fourth generation tailor who uses deadstock fabrics to create special one-of-a-kind pieces. “We go see him in Milan, we pick out fabrics, and he manufactures something just for our store,” he said. “It might be four-of-a-kind. You'll never see that jacket again. That is a reason to buy a jacket. It's special.”</p>
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<cite>Photo: Chris Black</cite>
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<p id="1Goqgw">I ask why he chose Culver City — a neighborhood not known as a shopping destination, like Beverly Hills, Melrose Place, or even the more hipster Silver Lake. There are two reasons that Culver City is working out just fine, though. The first is Peskowitz’s status as a full-blown menswear gawd. “The people who are interested in what we are doing are going to come see us,” he explained. “We’ve got people coming from Brentwood, Santa Monica, Venice.” The second is that the neighborhood is actually surprisingly fertile ground for a shop selling to people who work in creative environments and have the cash to spend on nice (read: pricey) clothes. “In Culver City, there are a lot of media companies, creative agencies, and architecture firms. Those people are the ones who I think would have the most natural inclination toward the kind of clothes we are selling."</p>
<p id="TKc6BE">When the conversation turns toward trends and what is happening in the industry today, Peskowitz, a street style star so bright a <a href="http://www.vogue.com/13417417/magasin-josh-peskowitz-la-store/"><em>Vogue </em>headline</a> referred to him simply as that, is still very much paying attention while on the West Coast. “I actually think we have entered a post-trend era,” he says. “The internet has decoupled image from meaning, particularly when you are talking about social media. Kids are inundated with all of these influential images, but they don’t really know where they came from. In a way, that’s really disconcerting, but in another way, it really has a lot of freedom to it.” But overall, Peskowitz is positive and energized by seeing more people taking risks. “People are choosing their own adventure much more than they ever have before,” he said. </p>
<p id="hcEXPe">The experimentation allows for small independent stores like Magasin to try new ideas that larger retailers can’t because their bottom line is volume. With Magasin, Peskowitz is offering more than a place to get dressed — he is offering personality and an inventive point of view.</p>
https://www.racked.com/2016/11/29/13406492/magasin-store-josh-peskowitzChris Black2016-05-23T14:14:12-04:002016-05-23T14:14:12-04:00What is Grailed?
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<figcaption><a href='https://www.grailed.com/drycleanonly/nyc-street-style-8'>Photo: Adam Fraser / Grailed</a></figcaption>
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<p class="c-entry-disclaimer"><i>Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods">The Goods by Vox</a>. You can also see what we’re up to by <a href="https://vox.com/goods-newsletter">signing up here</a>.</i></p>
<p dir="ltr">A lot has been said lately about men and how they buy clothes. According<a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2016/02/04/men_spend_more_money_and_time_on_clothes_shopping_than_women.html"> to a recent survey</a> conducted by fashion PR firm The Boutique @ Ogilvy, men are spending more time and money on shopping for clothes than women. This information won't exactly surprise you if you've visited a major shopping hub recently: All it takes is a walk down Lafayette Street in SoHo or Sunset Boulevard in Silver Lake to see that men are paying close attention to how they dress. The savviest of the bunch are shopping online at sites like MR PORTER, Yoox, Farfetch, SSENSE and Très Bien — all retailers that all cater to an informed and sophisticated customer. But there is a new shopping destination making big waves in the online marketplace: <a style="line-height: 1.24;" href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1514733&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.grailed.com%2F&referrer=racked.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.racked.com%2F2016%2F5%2F23%2F11744878%2Fgrailed-ceo-arun-gupta-on-reselling-cult-menswear-and-streetwear" target="_blank" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener">Grailed.</a></p>
<p dir="ltr">At its core, Grailed is a simple concept: It's a website and app for buying and selling high-end, secondhand menswear and streetwear. But the site offers much more. You can buy a piece you've been searching high and low for, stock up on basics you need for the office, and discover new brands all in the same place.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Grailed's clean design and simple functionality make the experience about the product in a way that's inclusive and not intimidating. The three categories — grailed (highly sought after pieces from well known designers and labels), hype (s<span>treetwear and new releases),<b> </b></span>and basics (v<span>intage and mass market brands)<b> </b></span><span>— are easy to navigate, whether you're looking for something specific or just browsing. The labels for sale speak for themselves: Supreme, Nike, and Palace sit next to vintage Raf Simons, Helmut Lang, and Number (N)ine. Reselling here isn't just for the thrifty — it allows fashion enthusiasts to shop more and experiment with new looks and designers, within a community of like-minded people. Before Grailed, these brands were being resold amongst devout followers, but on nerdy, hard-to-decipher forums and eBay pages unearthed only through deep keyword searches. Grailed has taken this practice, streamlined it for the diehard shopper, and made it accessible to the more mainstream, casual consumer.<br></span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>To find out more, I spoke with founder and CEO Arun Gupta about the Grailed shopper, how the site has built a following, and where Grailed — and shopping in general — is headed in the future.</span></p>
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<img alt="Grailed Street Style Bomber Jacket" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/VtAvSNhf7H1e1QY4EaRxwIbx_6s=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6532509/grailed-street-style-bomber-jacket.0.jpg">
<cite>Photo: Adam Fraser/ Grailed</cite>
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<p dir="ltr"><b>What kind of guy is using Grailed and what are they buying?</b></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>The Grailed guy is generally very purposeful about the clothing they wear. Sometimes they are looking for luxury items at affordable prices and other times they are looking for a better deal than they could find in the mall. Some are looking to add to their collections. Though they have a range of styles, Grailed users are typically savvy consumers who realize their dollar goes twice as far in a community marketplace such as ours.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>Grailed is making something that was once nerdy and insider-y much easier for the layman to use and understand. Do you think the site is helping people seek out new brands and try new things?</b></p>
<p dir="ltr">It makes trying new things much less risky. Previously if I wanted to try out an A.P.C. coat it would have run me ~$600 at a boutique. Now you can find that same coat (and others like it) on Grailed for less than $200. Plus if you don't end up liking it for whatever reason, you can always resell it to someone else and make your money back.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The homepage feed also makes it extremely easy to scroll for pages and discover new brands. Everything on Grailed has been curated twice: Once by the buyer who purchased it in the store, and then a second time by us when they post it to the website. This process results in the Grailed catalog being only the most desirable items so it's pretty fun to scroll through.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>How does the site's relationships with people like Ian Connor help brand awareness?</b></p>
<p dir="ltr">Ian represents a new generation of fashion conscious youth. These days more and more young people are expressing their personalities through the clothes they wear. Our mission is to help people find and afford pieces that would otherwise be inaccessible to them. That is something that definitely resonates with Ian and the youth consumer, which has absolutely contributed to our growth.</p>
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<img alt="Supreme Jacket on Grailed Street Style " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/DvvUDfRekhPyyh22TO0iniq2loE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6532719/grailed-street-style-supreme-jacket.0.jpg">
<cite>Photo: Adam Fraser / Grailed</cite>
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<b>Can you explain the concept behind the Grailed 100?</b></p>
<p dir="ltr">The Grailed 100 was our first opportunity to showcase our voice and demonstrate our taste as a company. We collected 100 of the most sought after menswear pieces from recent history and shot our own editorial and product photography. We released them for sale at <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1514733&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgrailed.com%2F100&referrer=racked.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.racked.com%2F2016%2F5%2F23%2F11744878%2Fgrailed-ceo-arun-gupta-on-reselling-cult-menswear-and-streetwear" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">grailed.com/100</a>, highlighting the details and stories of why these pieces are relevant. In essence it was a distilled version of what our marketplace represents: clothes you've always wanted, at a price that is surprisingly affordable.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>Is this the new way to shop? Are people OK with paying a little more to not wait in a line? Are they OK with paying less to wear something that is slightly used?</b></p>
<p dir="ltr">Grailed is definitely a different way to shop for a lot of people. We see much less of a stigma towards buying used, a sentiment that has definitely grown in the past few years as more and more people shop second hand. Not to mention, a community like ours really respects the garments themselves, which is evident in every piece that changes hands.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Our users see real value in buying items at lower prices and also being able to find pieces from past seasons that they may have missed. Even if something is still out of their price range it's easy to defray the cost by selling a piece they don't wear anymore. The reselling culture is a different animal, but it's pretty clear from the success of our Hype section that plenty of people are willing to pay a bit above retail for convenience and availability.</p>
https://www.racked.com/2016/5/23/11744878/grailed-ceo-arun-gupta-on-reselling-cult-menswear-and-streetwearChris Black