MARCH2–15, 2020 |THECUT 31VisitingHongKongin2002.CrosbyStreetinSoho.
Periodically,menwouldcomeinto
thestoreconfusedandaskCarol
fora massage.Shewouldrefuse.
ClaireDanes:I grew
uponCrosby...[Theflagship]
wasa speciallittlespot.Bythe
timeyoufinallygotthere,your
mindwashappilyblown.
JuneHumbertothrows himself
a raucous27th-birthday
celebrationintheemptyspace.It
turnsintoa demolitionpartywhen
gueststagthewallswithgraffiti
andjumpfromthebalcony,
breakingthroughtothebathroom.
SeptemberThestoreopensits
doors.MichaelStipeisoneof
thefirstcustomers.Caroland
Humbertoworkthefloor, ringup
sales,takeoutthetrash,andeven
chaseaftershoplifters.
C:Fora longtime,evenif wewere
boththere,wewouldgreetthe
customerandthenwewouldgo to
ourofficeintheback.We wanted
toletpeoplelook.We thoughtit
wastotallynormaluntiloneday
someonestolefive
le atherpiecesfromthe
mezzanine.I started
crying.
TheDiamondhoodie,
whichtheysellfor$60,
is theirfirsthit.
H:CarolandI are
fromSouthern
California,andhaving
a sweatshirt inyour
caris absolutely
essential.Mymomis
anamazing
seamstress—sheworkedin
garmentfactories—soweenlisted
hertohelpus.Wewanted
somethingreallygraphicthat
couldstandoutwithoutactually
havingtoprintanything,which
wouldrequireextra money. We
startedwitha runof50;theyweretherewithusonthefirst day
thestoreopened,andthey sold
outwithinthefirst week.
PatrikErvell,designerand
friend:Whenthestorefirst
opened,it wasalsoa placetohang
out.Peoplewouldcomebyand
playmusic.Therewerealways
peopleworkingintheback.
It wasalmost a weirdprecursor
toWeWorkina strangeway.
KidsstarLeoFitzpatrickwould
usetheirfaxmachineandhave
scriptssenttothestore.Designer
BenjaminChowouldcomeinto
sketch,whilehissister,Cathy,
studiedforhermedicalexams.
ShuHung(whowouldgo ontowork
atNikeandthenUniqloasglobal
creativedirector)startsa magazine
calledInwithKenMiller, whichis
basedinthebackof thestore.Brian
Phillips,whowouldgoontofound
BlackFrame,thefashion
PRfirmthatalsorepresented
thebrand,startsanart-consulting
companythere.
BrianPhillips:You’d cometo
figureoutwhat washappening
thatnight.Pre–socialmedia,if
youwantedtoknowwhatthe
coolkidsweredoing,you’dgo
andchatwiththesalesassociates.
2003 Year of Brazil
JanuaryTheytraveltoBrazil
ona buyingtrip,findplastic
flip-flopscalledHavaianasina
grocerystore,andfilltheir
suitcaseswiththem.
MayOliviaKimishiredasthe
firstemployee.(In2013,shewould
joinNordstromandisnowVP
ofcreativeprojects.)
OliviaKim:Thefirstday they left
mealoneinthestore,I wasby
myselfandlike a thousandpeople
camein,soI lockedthedoor. I was
like,Whatif allthesepeoplejust
grabclothesandrunoutofhere!
2004 Yearof Germany
MarchThestoremakesitsfirst
$1millionintotalsales.
H:CarolandI hada reallycrazy
ideathattheminuteweranupthat
millionth-dollartransaction,we
weregoingtothrowconfetti
atthisperson.We hadalsobeen
collectingthisgoodybagof
everythingwelovedthat weweregoingtohandthem.It happened
tobesomeoneweknew. She
boughta pairofsneakersforher
boyfriendandwaslike,“Hey,I’min
a rush.”Whenwewenttoringher
up,wewerelike,“Ohmy gosh...
she’s theone.” AndsoCaroland
I, ofcourse,actedinsane.As soon
asshepaidandwerangupher
creditcard,wethrewallthis
confetti overherhead.Shewasjust
like,“Whatis goingon,guys?”And
wewerelike,“Congratulations!”
Shewasalldressed
upfordinnerforher
boyfriend’s birthday.
It waskindofa
hilariousmess.
AugustAfter
workingwithonlytheirfriends,
CarolandHumbertodotheirfirst
brandcollaboration,withNike,
forthe 2004 Olympics.They
inviteeachdesignerandartist
theycarrytocreatea uniqueitem,
turningtheentirestore intoa Nike
shopcalledSouvenir.
2005 Yearof theU.K.
TheybringTopshoptotheU.S.
C:Whenweapproached
[Topshop],theideawas
completelyforeigntothem
becausetheyhadnever
wholesaledtheirclothingbefore.
They wereconfusedwhy we
wantedthemnexttoemerging
brandslike GarethPugh,Peter
Pilotto,andPeterJensen.But
tousandourfriends,Topshop
wasa crucialpartoftheLondon
fashionexperience.2006 Yearof Sweden
TheybringAcneandCheap
MondaytotheU.S.C:I first noticedAcnewhenwe
wereinBerlinin2004.Westarted
sellingthewholecollectionat the
store,alongwithotherSwedish
brandslike CheapMonday.We
actuallybecamefora whileAcne’s
retailpartnerintheU.S.,helping
themopena Sohostore.2007 Yearof theUSA
FebruaryTheyareoneofthefirst
tosellAlexanderWang,who
shoppedatthestorewhilea
studentatParsons.
AprilOCopensitsfirstbranchin
L. A.inCharlieChaplin’s former
dancestudioonLaCienega
Boulevard.
C:Wedidn’t believeinmakingit
a storewithonlytextbookL.A.
summeryjersey products all
yearround.
Aboutthistime,backinNew
York,theyrealizethestaffseemsto
belettingOC’sstatusasthe“It”
storego totheirheads.
H:Wehadtohavea lotoftalks
withthestaff. We wouldgo inand
havetotellthem,like, “Don’t
thinkyou’recool.What’scoolis
hownotcoolyouguysare.”
C:Wehadtohavea bigstaff
meetinginNewYork.We’dgotten
maybefourorfivetextsina row
fromfriendssaying,“Yourstaffis
horrendous,”andwe’d seenit too.
Wehada majorconversation.We
said,“Y ouhavethechoicetoday:
Youcaneitherwalkout,oryou
canchangeyourattitude.”It was
intense.It wasthefirsttimeI’d
seenHumbertocry
inalltheyearsI’d
knownhim.Wewere
sopissed!Wetookit
sopersonally.
MayJackyTangis
hiredasmanager.
JackyTang: It was
anintimidatingstoreTheOCofficein 2010.With Claire Danes at a 2010 dinner
in L.A. for Alexander Wang.PHOTOGRAPHS
COURTESY
OF
OPENING
CEREMONY
2004
Nike collab.2003
Introducing
Havaianas.2002
Diamond
hoodie.FEED