The art of the pop-up
Photo: Anna Gilkerson
I just love the concept behind pop-up shops. It’s like an exclusive flash-flood of coolness that exposes consumers to new collections by designers that may not be available elsewhere. Halifax is truly embracing the theme of the pop-up with exclusive festivals, markets, exhibits, trunk shows and sales constantly emerging for a limited time only. It’s an innovative way to peek, sample, socialize and shop.
Makenew curator Anna Gilkerson is no stranger to the art of the pop-up, and this summer she hopes to host events on a regular basis. The first up will feature Kate Rothschild’s six-piece capsule collection Proper Crooks (think men’s luxury basics like crisp linen pants, perfect soft T-shirts and raglan style sweat tops) and a selection of hard-to-find second-hand pieces for men. Gilkerson chatted with me recently about the upcoming event and putting the focus on menswear.
Can you tell me about your decision to feature Kate Rothschild’s designs?
Kate is a recent NSCAD graduate and she has such a passion for designing clothing, especially menswear. I was really impressed by her line at the senior students’ fashion show for many reasons but one important reason, as a retailer, I know that Kate’s looks are very sellable. Since I was a designer but am now a retailer, I look at pieces from the perspective of what will appeal to the customer. Presenting her collection will be a great way to introduce menswear again and get the guys out and excited about something a little different.
What can customers expect from the event this weekend?
Kate will be here to talk about her collection and the store will mainly be filled with men’s clothing. It will be a mix of the capsule collection and second-hand. There will be some amazing screen prints from NSCAD grad Josie Guenther. They are beautiful and minimal and she has a very interesting process that I think Makenew customers will love learning about. There will also be women’s clothing available at half-off so there’ll be a little something for everyone.
Pop-up shops seem like a great way to target a different demographic that you might not be able to reach on a regular basis. Will you be hosting more this summer?
I would really like to. In business, I trial everything to see how it goes and if it doesn’t work I try something else. I can’t always include every demographic so a pop-up is great practice for me to see what customers are interested in and what they’re buying. We are definitely planning to do a pop-up sale with children’s clothing in July and as a mom myself, I am so excited about this and I’ve been carefully selecting children’s looks. I started my previous company Deux FM, by hosting pop-up sales for women and now I’m doing this again with Makenew. It feels very organic and we’re going to play with it and see where it goes.
The Makenew men’s pop-up shop featuring Proper Crooks by Kate Rothschild is taking place June 12th – 15th at 2468 Agricola Street.
Photo: Anna Gilkerson
Photo: Anna Gilkerson
This story was originally published in Halifax Magazine.
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