AFACTORY Opens Hidden Menswear Store in NYC

AFACTORY, a new menswear store, opened 10 days ago on Eldridge Street in New York's Chinatown. The store is run by a three-person team with backgrounds in fashion who operate the business as a collective. According to a report from Highsnobiety, the store's location and design are intentionally discreet to foster a sense of discovery. The belowground entrance and soft-focus glass panes, which recall Japanese architecture, gently obscure the interior. The layout is unpretentious, guiding customers past the clothing toward a roomy changing area and a forthcoming backyard. The founders told Highsnobiety they were very happy with how the reporter found the store, stating it literally got their intention. The team aims to recapture the feeling of classic menswear retail from its early days, but with contemporary clothing. For more on the retail landscape, see our standings of top locations.

The Product Philosophy

Everything at AFACTORY is secondary to good product, the team explained. Their primary goal is to introduce brands they believe in, selecting items for their quality, ideas, and fit. They describe themselves as fashion nerds obsessed with clothes. Brand curation is based on a sense of compatibility. The team considers whether different brands' items could be worn together by their friends. They also prioritize long-term relationships with the people behind the labels, suggesting brands with cold people behind them will likely fade away. The store carries niche labels including ANCELLM, Barbell Object, INNAT, and Rice Nine Ten.

The Store Experience

The location has generated unexpected foot traffic from non-fashion customers, including people walking through Chinatown or visiting a photo gallery across the street. The team said they just want to be a good store. A good, classic store. They aspire to be a community melting pot for people and knowledge, a type of spot they feel is lacking in menswear retail. They cited an example where some visiting students were so excited they asked to take photos, reminding the founders of their own student days. The store's name reflects its ethos. The team thought of it as an assembly line, taking different elements-brands' aspects and their own backgrounds-to create one finished result. It's about putting together resonant, different things. Despite no press or publicity, the store has seen many customers purchase clothes from brands they had never heard of before. The team is happy about this, as they do not want to cater only to the fashion side of things. They aim to be a legendary store where people visit to look and discover. For deeper insights, our stats on retail trends may be of interest.