SYDNEY: Bassike will be adding international brands to its new store, which opened this week in Paddington.
Located on Glenmore Road, it is the second retail venture for the label, which also has a store in Avalon. Brand owners Mary Lou Ryan and Deborah Sams said that it is the right time to show the complete collection in a high end retail precinct.
Dries Van Noten sunglasses and Repetto shoes will appear next to the Bassike ready to wear collections and continuous denim and jersey lines. It will also feature a range of thongs designed in collaboration with Havaianas.
"We will be introducing a new bag line later on in the year once we come back from Paris," said Ryan. "We will keep on adding things we find on our travels."
The store interiors were designed by architect Kelvin Ho, who has also created store spaces for Belinda, Willow, Fleur Wood and Incu among others.
The Bassike store is a converted gallery space over two floors. The first floor will house the brand's ready to wear offer and the second floor will hold the denim and jersey pieces.
"It has a unique, very open feel rather than just being a shop unit. The downstairs opens up onto a beautiful walled garden," said Ryan.
The first range in store is the spring/summer collection. Ryan said the store should complement the brand's wholesale business, driving brand awareness and footfall to its wholesale doors.
"We would love to have a flagship store in each state to show the brand and how the product works back together, but always protecting our wholesale business," said Ryan.
It currently stocks 35 stores nationally and eight stores in New Zealand. It also supplies 40 stores across Europe, Japan, USA and Singapore.