The boys behind men’s fashion boutique Up There recently opened their third location in Melbourne. They invited Makers down to the newly acquired Little Collins Street store to check out the wares.
Excitingly, the new space is Up There’s first street level store in Melbourne’s CBD and the fit out is second to none. As always, the lads promise (and deliver) the perfect merging of service and product and these guys really know their stock inside out!
Selling a range of classic brands including Norse Projects, Bleu De Paname, New Balance and Converse, the lads have also thrown American brand Public School into the mix. Having won every fashion award under the sun in the last few years, Public School is the ‘it’ label on the New York fashion scene and is exclusively available through Up There in Australia.
Fresh from Japan on a fly-in visit to Melbourne, we caught sock manufacturing impresario Tsubasa on a South Melbourne coffee break post-meeting with our friends at Beggar Man Thief. Out to discuss the footwear store’s new sock program, Tsubasa impressed with an outfit that looks casual but was all quality, from his Visvim shoes and Maiden Noir Trousers to his Carhartt jacket and Up There made in Japan shirt. “I used to be in to labels when I was younger,” says Tsubasa, “but now it’s just all about understated quality.”
“Every man needs a good pair of jeans, a good pair of chinos, classic oxford shirts and white tee shirts. From that point, you can pretty much get dressed with your eyes closed.”
- Brendan Mitchell and James Barrett
It’s been three years since Brendan Mitchell and James Barrett decided that Melbourne’s men’s fashion scene was possessed of an Up There shaped hole in the retail landscape. Alumni of the sneaker scene (with a brief pit-stop spent working Paul Smith), the duo established their nirvana in an airy, second level laneway hideyhole, determined to bring quality men’s fashion to seekers of style.
Brendan: “We travelled a lot and saw stores around the world we loved but not everything in one location. We felt the only way we could get there would be to do it ourselves.”
Consequently the guys are focussed on brands scented with a whiff of exclusivity, alongside a strong serve of quality: think limited edition, US-made New Balance and first imprint Converse sitting next to UK brand Tender and Co (“one guy, all handmade and hand dyed; he pretty much just makes clothes he wants to wear”) and Copenhagen’s Norse Projects.
The product mix speaks to their desire to see Melbourne men embrace style and practicality.
Brendan: “Melbourne men have nailed black. But colour is good if you know how to wear it – just makes sure its tasteful. Wear appropriate outfits: sneakers and suits do not go.”
James: “And dress appropriate to the weather. If it’s cold outside wear a jacket – not a tee shirt and thongs. We see ourselves as educators: sell them the basics and they get comfortable with fashion, then can come back to look for shirts with more pattern and detail.”
Hook ‘em in with the Japanese made, Up There designed white shirt, elevate ‘em up the style totem pole with a Yuki Matsuda-designed three-piece camouflage suit. All in a day’s work for the boys at Up There.
