Where do you go to buy an exact replica of the parka Hillary wore to ascend Everest, a rare piece of Raf Simons archive, leather goods from Japan or perhaps a paper doll book, the sole publication of San Fran-based drag troupe the Cockettes? New men’s store LN-CC, of course.
The shiny new venture from former oki-ni buyer John Skelton (who we interviewed last year) LN-CC stands for Late Night Chameleon Cafe and has a soon-to-be-opened, appointment-only physical shop and an online component which launched last month.
Ostensibly slightly similar to oki-ni, the strength of John Skelton’s vision and uniting of high fashion with ‘street’ is what keeps it fresh. Plus there’s womenswear. But one of the best things is the styled images, which are spot on with their proportions, choice of product and mix.
On the whole, it stocks the usual favourites like Damir Doma, Rick Owens and J.W. Anderson but Skelton is selling off a large chunk of his extensive (and it’s very extensive) Raf Simons archive, which I’ve seen up-close and which is, basically, a museum to this world-beating designer.
There are some ludicrously amazing pieces, like the first season Raf x Eastpak backpack with the multicoloured straps that makes me want to cry that I didn’t buy it. In fact, the whole thing makes me want to cry in that I’ve never collected the designer seriously, was too young to see his first collections in person, and that a whole fifteen years of Raf’s work has passed into the ether, unavailable to wear (to all but the very rich).
Eastpak Raf Simons Spring Summer 05 backpack
Raf Simons Spring/Summer 03 parachute jacket
Raf Simons Spring/Summer 06 mesh t-shirt
Raf Simons Spring/Summer 02 boiler suit
It’s this archive, plus some new brands that marks what could have been a samey project to oki-ni into something with its own identity. Boots by Native (below), leather bags by Yvonne Kone and accessories by Mr. Olive round off the new selection. And it’s nice to see a full range of PAM and New Power Studio added to the ranks.
But then there’s the hyperbole. LN-CC is no doubt a fascinating shop put together by some of the brightest minds in menswear (with Gary Card providing the interior space and Conor Donlon doing the books on top). But it also claims to be ‘A JUNGLE, A STORE, AN ANIMAL, A MINDSET AND WHATEVER ELSE IT MAY WANT TO BE WHENEVER IT DECIDES TO BE IT’, in those broad capitals. Chest-beating at its finest, but in a world of ever-so-slightly nebulous ‘concept’ stores and pop-up boutiques and exhausting collaborations, also not as new as it thinks it is.
But then they say, ‘this is essentially a platform for you to experience and engage with. We don’t care if you come here but don’t actually buy anything – we are happy for you to take whatever you want from this, whether it be product, information or knowledge.’
To not to care if you buy something or not? To want to educate people about fashion? That’s a rare, honest thing and with the likes of Mr. Porter, Hostem and Trunk all launching major menswear spaces, perhaps the real thing that sets LN-CC apart.
