The Brooklyn Circus is expanding its retail footprint to another borough.
The prepwear brand is setting up shop in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood, opening a new retail concept called “The Space” on Friday at 361 Canal Street. The 1,100-square-foot gallery-style store is meant to be different from the brand’s Boerum Hill storefront, in that it will offer a rotating curation of products and will closely work with friends of the brand on partnerships and in-store experiences.
“It’s for people to discover and also rediscover what The Brooklyn Circus is and what the global village is about,” said founder and creative director Ouigi Theodore. “We are constantly evolving, constantly trying to learn more about what we can contribute to not only our community, but also to fashion and design. So, it’s constantly changing.”
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The store’s rotating experience is seen in the product lineup. The location offers core styles, recent collections and unique pieces from The Brooklyn Circus — including some archival styles — as well as a rotating assortment from other brands and designers that have worked with Theodore and The Brooklyn Circus. This includes South African menswear designer Wanda Lephoto and Amsterdam-based genderless fashion label Jouez Les Enfants, for example.
Products sold also include books, furniture, art and home decor. The Manhattan store additionally offers select pieces from The Brooklyn Circus’ recent Gap collaboration, as well as its newly launched BlaKc Wash collection made in collaboration with Art Comes First.
“It’s about the global village and how we leverage the people and the amazing talent we have in the village,” Theodore said about the store’s collaborators. “It’s how we leverage their ability to not only create beautiful product, but also to create beautiful experiences. Now we have more space to be able to give them the keys and the steering wheel to do things, so we’re going to constantly change and let the space grow with the community.”
The new store is similar to the Brooklyn storefront in that Theodore aims to use it to bring people together. Theodore has plans to host events in the storefront celebrating art, music and culture like he’s been doing in Brooklyn for the last 16 years.
This is the second time the brand has expanded its retail footprint beyond Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Circus previously operated a store in San Francisco for 10 years, which closed down in 2019.
To celebrate the Manhattan store’s opening, The Brooklyn Circus is displaying a portrait series that spotlights “25 thinkers, creators, dreamers, fighters, movers and collectors” modeling the brand’s BlaKc Wash collection.
The new storefront will also continue The Brooklyn Circus’ vintage business, with plans for a dedicated section currently underway.
“My goals for the new store are to absolutely shape the store’s image to be its own,” Theodore said. “To allow the Brooklyn store to continue to thrive and be its own and to continue to add more experience. In the time that we were working and building the store, we’ve met some folks that are on the road on Canal Street. Canal between Wooster and West Broadway is quite the mix. It’s New York at its best.”