Matt Noffs, co-founder of Australian shoe brand Gideon, describes himself as “The Dork King”, head “poncho” of the company, and counts cane-toad skin shoes as one of his most popular sneaker styles. Similarly in sync, the brand’s latest store in the bustling beachside suburb of Bondi, is just as interesting as its owner.
The store, which launched last month, sits on the corner of the Roscoe and Gould Street shopping strips at Bondi Beach and follows Jungian myth according to Noffs, complete with a mix of bright decorations and eclectic trinkets.
Designed by a team of volunteer stylists – including former Vogue fashion editor Alex Zabotto-Bentley, ex-Sneaky Sound System member Daimon Downey and artist Brett Chan – Noffs executed the store concept within two weeks of receiving the site keys and says he chose the location because Bondi “needed” a highly conceptual store.
“Bondi Beach is very tribal. The walls are clean on one side and exposed brick work on the other, but it’s super bright. I call it “Gay Ghetto”. I love it,” he says. “Bondi needed something less pretentious and more fun, and this store is rustic and imperfect.”
To avoid any confusion, the quirky store concept is communicated from front to finish with product, which includes Gideon pieces as well as label’s Asuza and First Born, Title CDs and DVDs, displayed through the large floor to ceiling shop window on oversized plastic hamburgers, corn cobs and ice-cream cone stands. Customers can enter, if they dare, via a heavy wooden door, walking onto the white tiled shop floor, approximately 35m2 in size.
Noffs, who also runs Street University, a Sydney drop-in centre, says Gideon stores have no set target market, and the brand is not interested in niche marketing or exclusivity, preferring to let the product and stores speak for themselves and attract people from all walks of life.
“We love including people and we cater for humanity - even at the risk of tearing the brand into different directions,” Noffs says.
“We’re more about a celebration of culture, individuality and life than we are about products. When you wear our shoes, you’re showing someone that you’re a part of something larger. You’re changing the world and you’re having fun doing it.”
Nevertheless, it seems the Gideon concept is going down well, with Noffs recently opening another store in quick succession to the Bondi outlet. “The next fortnight we opened a store in Speed St, Liverpool. Gideon, you know, was born at The Street University, so like, it’s only natural that we have a shop there. The kids out there were begging for something closer,” he says.
“The Liverpool store is a converted warehouse and Hip Hop all the way – like something out of the Bronx.”
