On a recent Friday night in New York, the partying in a trendy downtown hotel room started early. By 8.30pm, about 75 guests were packed into a bedroom and adjacent seating area, drinking Moët et Chandon, eating canapés, and talking loudly about designer fashion – which was all around them. Chanel bags dangled over a bathtub, a Rick Owens jacket was laid out on the bed, and a rack with Tom Ford-era Gucci leather and stretchy Helmut Lang dresses stood beside a window.
Welcome to a new way to shop – for Christmas presents or anything else. Call it consumption with friends or relaxed retail and think of it as a makeshift, invite-only pop-up shop with a cocktail feel. The key factors are: first, a party element; second, a non-traditional location such as a hotel room or private home; and finally, a hand-picked array of pieces from favourite luxury labels – some new, some barely used – offered at discounted prices.
The aforementioned “party” was hosted by Decades, a Los Angeles-based consignment store that specialises in nearly new items from Christian Louboutin, Manolo Blahnik, Hermès and other top-tier designers, with prices ranging from $100 for an Alexander Wang top to more than $5,200 for a Lagerfeld fur. Decades has held similar events over the past two years in Chicago, Dallas, Detroit and a handful of other US cities, with others planned in Singapore, Paris and the Middle East. It’s been an efficient way for the store to expand its customer base without having to sign a long-term lease for new locations during recessionary times.