Inside Arterton, a London Menswear Shop That You Can
Leave With Everything But Clothes
The London-based accessories brand celebrates
community and craft with a new showroom and lounge in the Princes Arcade
Published on March 11, 2024
By Eric Twardzik
https://robbreport.com/style/menswear/arterton-london-store-1235541416/
Arterton sells
everything a dedicated clotheshorse could want—except clothes. Rather, it
trades in what founder William Wong lovingly dubs “desiderata”, a Latin word
translating to “things desired.”
If that sounds vague, shoppers can now see such
objects of desire firsthand at the new Arterton showroom at 12 Princes Arcade,
which opened in December. Within its small, high-ceilinged space, wooden
cabinets are stocked with shoe creams by the Swedish maker Paul Brunngard,
eco-friendly stain removers from Britain’s Clothes Surgeon, and shapely
beechwood clothes hangers made by Japan’s Nakata Hanger.
Above them, boxes that hold snuff suede Chelsea boots
made in India by Bridlen or hand-welted oxfords from China’s Yearn Shoemaker
are stacked to the ceiling. Luckily, a solid walnut library ladder rests
against the merchandising cabinet for staff to retrieve them.
Arterton may have stitched together a veritable United
Nations of fine clothing accessories, but it all began with a garment bag. Or
rather, the lack thereof. Unimpressed with what the market had to offer,
Wong—then a PhD student at Cambridge—decided to design his own. The result was
released in 2021 as Arterton’s first and still best-selling product, the
signature garment bag made from 10 oz waxed cotton with a dual-zip opening and
holes enough to accommodate three hangers.
“Sometimes you want a very specific thing, but you
can’t find it,” says Wong of the business’s genesis.
Now, it’s not entirely true that clients can’t
purchase clothing at Arterton—they just can’t walk out of the door with it. The
showroom also serves as the permanent workspace for Matthew Gonzalez, a
California native who was for years the only American-born tailor on the Row,
where he cut his teeth cutting for Hunstman before striking out on his own. The
expat now practices his signature Anglo-American cut in a mezzanine visible to
showroom visitors, who might catch Gonzalez cutting a pattern or constructing a
basted fitting with a cast-iron sewing machine.
Gonzalez’s elevated, front-and-center position is an
inversion of the typical Savile Row experience, where tailors work underground
and out of sight. “I think there is something really beautiful about walking in
and seeing all of these amazing products at your eye level, and then having the
symbolic craft above you,” Gonzalez tells Robb Report.
The Arterton experience continues across the hall at
13 Princes Arcade, which serves as a private lounge for Wong and Gonzalez’s
clients. Hidden from street level, visitors may access it by mounting a spiral
staircase that opens to a pocket-sized space with plush carpeting, a
well-stocked bar, and a set of vintage McIntosh speakers. It’s a fitting
backdrop for customers—or as Wong calls them, “enthusiasts”— to commission a
new jacket (£3,750, or about $4,800) or suit (£5,100, around $6,500) from
Gonzalez, or a customized accessory like an embroidered garment bag, an
engraved Nakata hanger or a made-to-order shoe in a particular leather.
Just as importantly, it serves as a retreat where the
Arterton community can kick back with a good scotch or a double espresso in
hand. “When you’re sitting in this space, you instantly forget that there is
the hustle and bustle of Picadilly that’s just 50 yards away,” Gonzalez says.
“It really does feel like an oasis.”
In the year to come, Arterton’s desiderata will grow
with new lines including its first-ever luggage offering, consisting of a
briefcase and weekender made from waxed cotton with leather trimmings.
Gonzalez, meanwhile, is planning for his first trunk shows on American soil.
But for now, anyone with a desire for the finer things will be well-served with
a visit to 12 and 13 Princes Arcade.
Eric Twardzik
Eric
Twardzik is a Boston-based freelance writer with a passion for classic menswear
and classic cocktails. He has a deep reverence for things that get better with
age, such as tweed jackets and single malt scotch. In addition to Robb Report,
his writing has appeared in GQ, Condé Nast Traveler, Vice, WM Brown, and many
other websites and publications. He has far too many ties and not enough
occasions to wear them.
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