Retail

Sam Rush and Henry Allum founded fashion brand Handsom in 2010, before opening this flagship shop in 2012. “Expect soft tailoring and relaxed silhouettes in premium fabrics, with an emphasis on texture and colour,” says Rush of their small-batch, sustainably produced collections. Here, functional, well-constructed items are joined by Australia’s Pared Eyewear and Hakea Swim, as well as US offering Malibu Sandals. Each piece is designed in the upstairs studio and manufactured at ethically accredited factories overseas. Knitwear is made from Merino wool while yarns are fashioned from the likes of bamboo and hemp-cotton. 

After each working for notable Australian fashion houses, couple Amy and Adam Coombes combined their talents to launch this progressive label in 2011. “Washed-back Japanese denim and superior Merino knits are staples,” says Adam of their scrupulously selected fabrics, which the pair transform into boxy jumpsuits, kimono dresses and tie-belted trousers in monochromatic shades. For this Fitzroy shop, Melbourne studio Sibling stripped back the Victorian-era interior to its original form, re-shaping a calming retail space with touches of local ash, concrete, limed floorboards and custom-made copper clothing racks. 

Meg and Zenta Tanaka combined their backgrounds in architecture, design, food and wine to open this charmingly eclectic slice of Japan on a Collingwood backstreet in 2008. The concept store provides a recipe for living slowly, with good design and nourishing food as key ingredients. “I wanted to create a space where people can pop in and be inspired or enjoy a special moment in everyday life,” says Zenta. Hard-to-find tamagoyaki (rolled omelette) pans, woodblock-printed textiles and handcrafted knives feature among the homeware crafted by small-scale Japanese makers. The on-site café serves traditional Japanese breakfast on weekends.

For Michael Pavlou, flowers run in the family. “Some of my earliest memories are of wrapping flowers with my auntie at the Sunday markets,” says Pavlou. In 2014, he pressed pause on a psychology degree to open his own flower shop in the lively South Melbourne Market. Here he places emphasis on seasonality, arranging all manner of native flowers and foliage (and some beloved textural exotics) into dazzling bouquets. “There are so many flowers and plants endemic to Australia that no one has seen before and I decided to change that,” he says. As well as sourcing from wholesale markets and direct from farms, Pavlou also works with growers to cultivate specific native blooms. 

The son of a butcher, Chris Pickings attributes his interest in menswear and style to growing up in the north of England under the influence of Oasis and inheriting his father’s collection of vintage clothing, guitars and records. He moved to Melbourne in 2011, where he saw a gap in the market for a menswear outlet selling authentic, international heritage brands. “I expected to find shops catering to this end of men’s style but there weren’t many at all – everything I wanted to buy I had to buy online,” he says. The Fitzroy shop also includes a barber that offers a range of traditional grooming services.