The used goods market has been building a lot of momentum for years now – but every now and then, a dealership comes along that completely redefines expectations. Sop’s fourth store in South Melbourne is one of those times. Forget the op shop of your memory. Preloved has decidedly gone for the market, and the fitout proves to be something else entirely.
Designed in collaboration with designer William McRoberts – previously featured in these pages on his work at Ellison Studios Sydney HQ – and Joseph Gardner of Studio Gardner, the South Melbourne site is Swop’s largest and most sought-after location to date. Gardner, widely recognized as one of Australia’s sharpest creative eyes – currently Style Editor at Vogue Living and a long-time contributor to the world’s leading designs – brings the same kind of insight that has defined her editorial and curatorial work elsewhere. The result is a space that feels less like a store and more like a well-organized place where you want to spend time.
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The setting is a New York warehouse with a definite Melbourne twist – green, open in scale, but not cold. Each interior feature has been handpicked as carefully as the clothes on the racks, including works by Annie Paxton, BMDO, Dalton Stewart and Olivia Bossy. Taken from both local designers and vintage showrooms, including Fitzroy’s Castorina, the furniture reads like a design history lesson at its best.
Highlights include a 1970s German inflatable sofa by Günter Sulz, a Moveable Sculpture by François Colette, and a 1960s sofa by Massimo and Lella Vignelli – an Italian couple who became legends of functional design. This is set against modern counterpoints: custom metal coffee tables from Galerie Terminus and 01.Bench, a piece by Rotterdam-based designer Johan Viladrich.
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For Swop founder Brigid Gordon, the South Melbourne expansion marks a milestone – a direct response to demand beyond the brand’s Collingwood home.“With this new location, the goal was to create a unique space that instantly connects everyone who enters,”Gordon said.“I hope that in evoking a sense of ease and welcome, Swop South Melbourne offers shoppers an escape from when the only focus is discovery.”
That ethos of discovery – to slow down, to linger, to discover the unexpected – is baked into the architecture of the place itself. Swop has always operated in a distinctly European way, buying directly from its community rather than relying on commodity models, and organizing its programming with a level of objectivity that sets it apart from the mainstream resale market. Since its inception in 2013, the brand has built a loyal following by treating popular fashion with the same respect as anything newly made.
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[Images courtesy of Swop. Photography by Tom Ross.]