At this moment, ESSX, a newly opened multi-brand concept store in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, is the only brick and mortar retailer in the world to stock pieces from Martine Rose, embroidered caps by the LES OG Clayton Patterson, and Aris Tatalovich flannels worn by Lil Yachty. And the clothing racks that fill the 7,000-square-foot store aren’t partitioned off to specific brands. Instead they are organized based on “vibes.”
Tweed jackets from 4SDesigns hang next to soft silk shirting by Winnie New York. Denim jackets from the Japanese label Kuro sit alongside vintage T-shirts and playful new-age hippie apparel from the Houston-based label Glass Cypress. Although ESSX stocks some of the most popular designer labels right now, it wants to put more emphasis on discovery rather than brand recognition.
“While we were growing up in New York, it was always about finding the piece,” says Laura Baker, ESSX’s co-founder and retail director. “Shopping at Opening Ceremony and talking to the sales associates at Barneys to learn about a brand and find something new rather than buying into a brand because everyone else is wearing it.”
Originally conceived during the pandemic, ESSX was originated by Baker and Scarce mystery box founders Abe Pines and Yoel Zagelbaum. While Zagelbaum comes from the commercial real estate industry, Baker and Pines both have strong backgrounds in wholesale and distributing designer labels. Baker has run her own showroom, Pblc Trde, since 2009 and recently worked at Complex as a merchandising director. Aside from Scarce, Pines also runs Luxury Emporium, a distribution company that invested $7 million into ESSX. Located at 140 Essex Street, ESSX is far off from the traditional retail strips in SoHo, Midtown Manhattan, or Madison Avenue. But the team chose to open in the Lower East Side to reach its ever-present creative community.
“You’ll find most of the youth down here, not on Madison Avenue,” says Baker. “We're really relying on the New Yorker to come in here and shop and discover. It's, again, less about the labels and more about individual pieces and individual style.”
Although ESSX’s polished interiors may look like other contemporary clothing retailers in New York City right now, there’s an “if you know, you know” type of vision for the store that fits the trend-setting tastes of Downtown New York. A cafe and gift shop that will stock books, magazines, homeware, artwork, and collectibles will be programmed by Alife’s original founder Rob Cristofaro—whose new creative studio, Newco, will serve as the “creative agency of record” for ESSX.
“He was a really special pick for us because he has been running Alife around the corner for so long and he understands how this neighborhood moves,” Baker explains while pointing toward a flower arrangement picked out by Cristofaro for the store’s opening window display, sourced from a local flower shop on Hester Street called Joy Flowers. “We’re looking to work with him on different activities that really support the community and it doesn't always have to be this big corporate company but smaller brands, artists, and creatives that we can give a jumpstart to.”
The store already has programming planned for emerging designers and underground creatives. An all-glass rotunda dubbed “The Sphere'' currently has an assortment of black vintage band T-shirts from an anonymous celebrity vintage clothing dealer who goes by “Mister X.” In September, for New York Fashion Week, the artist Clayton Patterson will take over the space to present a documentary on the Lower East Side’s evolution. Aris Tatalovich, Lil Yachty’s creative director whose eponymous label has only been seen on his mysterious Instagram page, will be displayed in ESSX’s “Gallery”—an-all white room separated from the main floor of the store that’s dedicated to letting emerging labels and designers to tell their own stories. Currently, ESSX is Tatalovich’s first and only retailer.
“Aris was so shy and I couldn't get a word out of him, but I asked if he had his collection to show me. He opened up this big backpack and pulled out clothes all crumpled in a ball. But it was all so beautiful,” says Baker, who credits Pines for fostering ESSX’s relationships with emerging designers like Tatalovich. “Abe’s like their papa, always helping them out. I think Aris really trusted Abe, but if it were anybody else, he probably wouldn't have done it.”
Others working behind the scenes of ESSX include 424 founder Guillermo Andrade, who serves as ESSX’s fashion consultant. Andrade’s position is not just a flashy marketing play. Baker says he played a key role in selecting “power pieces” for the store and has a curational record that speaks for itself. Andrade’s 424 store on Fairfax was one of the first to stock international labels like Martine Rose in the United States and to support emerging L.A. brands like Fear of God and Rhude when it first opened in 2014. “If it wasn't for Guillermo, I don't know if we would have gotten as far as we did this first season,” says Baker. ESSX will also be 424’s sole distributor in New York City. 424’s footwear, which sits next to other styles by brands like Raf Simons, has already drummed up local hype around the store.
“Kids were walking up to him and stopping him on every block when he was in New York this fall, telling him they loved his boots but couldn’t get his product in person or outside of SSENSE,” shares Baker, who says most of Andrade’s footwear sold out within two days of the store’s opening this week. “After seeing it in person, people have quickly put in orders and we’ve already asked for a restock.”
Granted that ESSX faces old-guard competitors uptown like Bergdorf Goodman and local competitors like HBX (another multi-brand store by Hypebeast that’s a stone's throw away in Manhattan’s Chinatown), it’s clear that Baker, Pines, and Zagelbaum are taking a distinct approach. Brands stocked at ESSX won’t be marked down and advertised with the traditional end-of-season clearance sales. Instead they’ll be packaged into Scarce mystery boxes. “ESSX is going to be like the guinea pig to start with this [Scarce] model,” says Pines. “We're going to hopefully bring it to other retailers that face the same issues.” And aside from using the space for experiential activations, there’s also a section of the shop dedicated to VIP styling appointments by their in-house stylist Lauren Ferreira, who previously worked as Drake’s wardrobe assistant.
Yes, ESSX will have an online e-commerce store and operate like most stores of its nature. But the store’s mission is broad and seeks to fill in the void left by stores that have come and gone in an ever-changing New York.
“I know firsthand the issue with acquiring pieces because a lot of stylists are dependent on showrooms, which are very limited in sizing,” shares Ferreira. “And with stores like Opening Ceremony and Totokaelo closing, it’s become harder for stylists to access product. This store will help fill that need.”