Avant-garde Stores
A list of the coolest avant-garde shops around.
Most Recent Stores
Two See
Carnaby - London, United KingdomWhere does all that dynamic, creative fashion taught at Central St. Martins and presented at London Fashion Week go anyway? Two See, for one, is where. A fervent supporter of the young and upcoming fashion designer, most of the labels wont be...
Anastasia
Laguna Beach - Laguna Beach, CA United StatesReader Suggested: Amazing women's store in Laguna Beach, CA. They carry very exclusive designers such as, Comme des Garcons, Junya Watanabe, Yohji Yamamoto, Limi Feu, and Maison Martin Margiela. Also, there is a cafe attached to the boutique. All around an awesome place to eat and shop.
B Store
Savile Row - London, United KingdomReader Suggested: B Store has long been at the very sharpest edge of London fashion. Opened in 2000, owners Matthew Murphy and Kirk Beattie started in a small unit on Conduit Street, Mayfair and soon began to make waves on the burgeoning London fashion scene. Designers like Peter Jensen, Bernhard Willhelm and Siv...
LEFT
Fitzroy - Fitzroy, VIC AustraliaReader Suggested: LEFT is a small and warm boutique situated in Melbourne's Fitzroy in Australia. We might be far away but we are worth the trip if you are in Melbourne, Australia. We carry International brands such as M.A+, Y's Yohji Yamamoto (womens) , Peachoo + Krejberg, Comme Des Garcons. Accessories...
Dear:55
Lower East Side - New York, NY United StatesRemember the avant-garde clothing of the 1980s? The loose silhouettes, the dark hues, the flowing tailoring. Dear:55 honors these constructions in a completely refreshing and exciting way. The store features vintage Comme des Garcons, Yohji...
Oak
NoHo - New York, NY United StatesThe best clothing shops are really good filters. It's one thing to seek out and stock the hippest labels. It's another thing entirely to irreverently edit these lines to find those handful of pieces that are both stylish and versatile,...
Joan Shepp
Center City - Philadelphia, PA United StatesReader Suggested: Affordable, exceptional luxury fashion. Carries one of a kind, up-to-the-minute selection of favorites like Stella McCartney, Christian Louboutin and Junya Watanabe and unique accessories by hard-to-find brands such as Johnny Farah, Sissi Rossi...
Comme des Garçons
Chelsea - New York, NY United StatesFrankly, we'd be disappointed if the New York Comme des Garcons shop wasn't tucked into a nondescript building, with a futuristic cave for an entryway. All of the requisite pieces of the sprawling Comme des Garcons universe are appropriately scattered throughout the austere, yet...
Jil Sander
Upper East Side - New York, NY United StatesAs a brand we've always seen Jil Sander to be above the fray, letting those other moody European labels scrum for the "More Avant-garde Than Thou" awards. As a store, Jil Sander's New York boutique holds true to this notion. The minimal space was not, as far as we know,...
Carve
The Lab - Costa Mesa, CA United StatesReader Suggested: cool store that sells things you can't find most places: comme de garcons, visvim (i believe, i haven't been in awhile), apc, y-3, levi's vintage clothing, spring court.
Project No. 8
Chinatown - New York, NY United StatesIn the perpetual tug-of-war match between art and commerce in fashion, score one for art. The humbly named Project No. 8 is, you guessed it, duo Brian Janusiak and Elizabeth Beer's 8th collaborative project. But more than that it's a...
Le Sous Sol
Lower East Side - New York, NY United StatesIn the '80s the Antwerp Six introduced the world at large to Belgian fashion design, and decades later the country is still going strong, producing one influential, imminently talent designer after another. At Le Sous Sol, get a peek at the...
Harputs Market
Western Addition - San Francisco, CA United StatesFor decades avant-garde fashion jetted from New York to Tokyo, flying right over San Francisco's head. With Harputs Market, dark, high-style clothing finally has a West Coast outpost. The looks for women and men, mostly in black and friends...
Welcome Hunters
Chinatown - Los Angeles, CA United StatesThanks to Welcome Hunters those looking for the multitude of young, fresh, often daring design coming out of the many corners of the world can stop hunting and commence with the gathering. How to describe the aesthetic--crazy club kid meets...
Doshaburi
Barrio Gótico - Barcelona, SpainReader Suggested: I went to Barcelona Bread&Butter week in January 2007. I found a nice clothing store in the Gothic area. They have many labels I like: Levi's Vintage Clothing, Levi's RED, Marjan Pejoski, KTZ (Kokon To Zai), Bernhand Willhelm, Bless, Ann Sofie Back, Wendy&Jim, Petar Petrov,...
Des Kohan
Miracle Mile - Los Angeles, CA United StatesDes Kohan's fashions don't need to scream to make their point--black, brown, beige, navy, and white are the colors in the shop's rainbow. Dresses, separates and a host of belts, bags and shoes distinguish themselves with the careful...
Opening Ceremony
La Cienega - Los Angeles, CA United StatesWhen we think clothing boutique and New York a store like Opening Ceremony is what we have in mind. The store is hip and worldy, avant-garde but approachable, artful and industrial. The shop contains a collection of hip, chic clothing the likes...
Dover Street Market
Mayfair - London, United KingdomReader Suggested: Incredible guerrilla store from Comme des Garçons where they give space to up and coming designers. The selection is always amazing and changing frequently, you'll find everything from Lanvin to Boudicca to Balenciaga to Jens Laugesen. The building seems more like a warehouse but it just...
Dover Street Market
Aoyama - Tokyo, JapanReader Suggested: Incredible guerrilla store from Comme des Garçons where they give space to up and coming designers. The selection is always amazing and changing frequently, you'll find everything from Lanvin to Boudicca to Balenciaga to Jens Laugesen.
Ikram
Gold Coast/Streeterville - Chicago, IL United StatesWhile you await for Chicago's first Yohji Yamamoto store (don't hold your breath), Ikram is the one and only place in the city where the world's most ambitious, avant-garde designer clothing can be found. The most revered names in Japanese, French, Belgian and American fashion...