Nordstrom‘s ongoing New Concept series launched only last year, but it’s already seen partnerships with revered cult-like designers including Raf Simons and Helmut Lang. For its newest edition, Thom Browne has stepped up to the plate.
Concept 009: Thom Browne is a sharp 30-piece collection inspired by retro athletic gear. (Remember Armie Hammer as the Winklevoss Twins in The Social Network? It’s very that.) Browne’s signature collegiate uniform aesthetic is in top form but executed in a subtler manner that’s easier to integrate into everyday wear. There are plenty of tailored pieces, like blazers, ties, trousers, and fitted schoolboy shorts, as well as more casual spring options like printed swimsuits, bucket hats, and sweatpants. Accessories include a leather bag, a Dopp kit, and a branded towel.
“I have to say, I feel like collaborations are getting a little overdone, and the only times I ever even entertain the idea of collaboration is if it’s something that’s really interesting to me—and I think, in turn, interesting to the customer,” Browne said in a statement. “So, for me, it stands out in that it really is not a traditional collaboration; it’s a collaboration at a level that is a lot more intellectual and not purely commercial. The approach to this collaboration is done well and intelligently. It really elevates the collections within Nordstrom stores.”
The Nordstrom Concept 009: Thom Browne is available in select Nordstrom stores and online now. Check out more of the looks in action below.
Recent years have taken a drastic toll on the retail industry. One report estimates that over 7,500 stores across the United States will close by the end of the year. Beloved city institution Barneys New York has filed for bankruptcy. With new digital platforms and increasing dependence on technology that makes online shopping easier than ever before, traditional retail as we know it is in peril.
On the other hand, the menswear world is brimming with new life and potential. More people are tuned in to what’s happening with men’s fashion, and a new generation of industry figureheads like Virgil Abloh are directing the future of the fashion landscape as a whole—a sharp turn for a segment which, until recently, moved and evolved at only a fraction of the pace of its womenswear counterpart. The golden age of menswear is finally upon us.
This is where Sam Lobban, the vice president of men’s fashion at Nordstrom, comes in. With his expertise and decorated career, Lobban is helping bridge these worlds together for the future. “One of the most exciting things is how democratic menswear is, and how there are more eyes on it than ever before,” Lobban says. “There seems to be a recurring conversation about this period of real growth in menswear and how far more people are interested in it, which is all completely true. That in itself, by just having a huge amount of interest in the men’s scene, a huge amount of people want to buy into it and want to find out about new brands, new products, and new ideas, which means you can do lots of different things.”
Nike Men’s Store in the Nordstrom Men’s store in New York.
Born in London, Lobban got his earliest experience working at a men’s store when he was 15 years old. He later worked for Selfridges in London before helping launch Mr. Porter in 2011 and finally joined Nordstrom last year. It’s fair to say he’s seen both industries from every imaginable angle.
“One of the things that interested me in joining Nordstrom was [thinking about] what stories can we tell? Who can we partner with? What’s the branding? And I was super intrigued by what that meant in a physical and digital environment,” he shares. “How can you marry storytelling ideas in physical form and then marry that with digital content? I think that is the biggest difference between what I was doing there [at Mr. Porter] and what I’m doing here.”
During his first year at Nordstrom, Lobban oversaw the opening of the department store’s first menswear boutique in New York last April. The multi-level space captures the cultural demand of today, carrying a range of merchandise from high-profile designers like Comme des Garçons, Balenciaga, and Valentino alongside familiar brands like Vans, Converse, and Adidas. Everything works together to ensure a seamless experience for a variety of consumers.
Building this experience is Lobban’s main objective. He’s aware the customers today are hungry for more than just clothing when they walk into a store—they want a story. Rather than overwhelm visitors with options, he targets a specific audience with niche tactics.
The grooming department at Nordstrom Men’s in New York.
Earlier this year, Lobban launched the Concept initiative, a storewide series that highlights emerging and established talent and introduces new customers to influential designers. “The new Concept is a way for us to give our current customer base some new and compelling ideas and reasons to come into the store and interact with the business, but also a way for us to reach out to a new customer base,” he says.
The first Concept featured a curated range of extreme outerwear. Later editions include a temporary Dior takeover, a collaboration with Japanese publisher Printings. JP that curated a vintage selection of rare Helmut Lang and Raf Simons pieces, and a partnership with boutique streetwear store Union Los Angeles.
“It’s really important that there are multiple levels to what we are trying to do,” Lobban says about the success of the series. “I’m really interested in when a guy wants to come in and buy a $42 Union T-shirt, just because he thought the graphics were cool, [which is] great! But if a customer is interested in finding out some of the deeper layers of the storytelling, it’s important for my concepts that there are multi-faceted layers, and there’s a story to back it up.”
Rather than submit to the general trends of the industry, Lobban is interested in providing customers with an opportunity to explore beyond the mainstream—he’s aware that the shopping experience is multidimensional. So when it comes to the idea of a doomed retail industry, he’s not worried at all.
“Everyone’s talking about the speed of change, but change is the only constant thing in fashion. It’s faster than seasonal now, but it’s always moved, it’s always changed—that’s why I like it,” he says. “And everything is cyclical, so even if something is in a lull, everything comes back around.”
The dedicated Christian Louboutin section at Nordstrom Men’s in New York.
CONCEPT 006: 1017 ALYX 9SM, the latest iteration as part of an ongoing store initiative at Nordstrom’s Men’s Store in New York City launched an exclusive collection made in collaboration with the streetwear designer. Previous editions of the CONCEPT series have involved the release of archived Raf Simons pieces and exclusive Dior launches.
“Alyx is rooted in functionality and how it can be incorporated into peoples’ lives,” Sam Lobban, vice president of Nordstrom Men’s, said in a statement. “A lot of times fashion is for fashion’s sake, promoting purely the aesthetic. Matthew balances the aesthetic with making forward-thinking menswear that guys will really want to wear.”
The 40-piece collection is split between four categories: leather, signature, technical, and formal. Anchored by a dark monochromatic color palette, the pieces are able to be integrated into your closet seamlessly and add an extra dimension of street edge to your look.
CONCEPT 006: 1017 ALYX 9SM is available in the New York store and online now.
VP of men’s fashion at Nordstrom Sam Lobban has partnered with Union Los Angeles founder Chris Gibbs for a new reason to get excited about streetwear. Concept 005: Union & Company, the fifth and latest iteration of Nordstrom’s new designer initiative which launched in January, offers an exclusive range of 13 collaborations between some of the most popular streetwear brands of the moment. It also marks Union’s return to the city in 10 years.
Some of the brands featured include Fear of God, Cactus Flea Market, Converse, Awake NY, and Marni. The expansive range includes graphic t-shirts (a lot of them seem to be inspired by vintage band merch which is always fun), camp collar summer button-downs, hoodies, and plenty of other things to incorporate into your street wardrobe.
Concept 005: Union & Company is open now at select Nordstrom stores and online now.
Today, Nordstrom Men’s New York store launches Concept 002: Dior, a unique in-store experience featuring a series of pop-up shops and introducing Dior‘s Summer ’19 capsule collection to the boutique. The collection features an assortment of pieces, including t-shirts and accessories, adorned with exclusive prints from American artist KAWS who updated the brand’s logo and bee motif. The initiative (overseen by Sam Lobban, Nordstrom VP Men’s Fashion) also includes a large 8-foot tall bee sculpture and black scaffolding inspired by the designer’s summer presentation in Paris last June. Since it’s the first collection presented by newly appointed creative director Kim Jones, Concept 002: Dior is sure to generate a lot of buzz.
Concept 002: Dior is open today at Nordstrom Men’s in New York and will land in the Seattle location tomorrow. Check out some of the available pieces below.
