Club Monaco was one of the first brands to create “experiential” shopping experiences, building cafés and flower shops in their stores as early as 1985. More than 30 years later, they’re pushing it further with slightly redesigned stores where events and plush seating areas will entice shoppers to grab a coffee and hang out for a while. Many luxury retailers and cool-kid startups have a similar approach to retail, but Club Monaco is a massive, global brand positioned somewhere between the high street and contemporary designers—so if they believe in it, you can bet this is more than a trend.
Club Monaco also cast a diverse group of “real people”—many of them friends of the design team—for the Fall 2018 men’s and women’s lookbook and advertising campaign. Booking non-models has become the norm for many larger runways, but Club Monaco’s m.o. is to make high-quality, affordable clothes for the masses, so the move feels particularly natural. This collection’s shearling coats, marled knits, and workwear separates are the kinds of pieces you’ll reach for every day, so it’s important to actually see yourself in them.
Head of design Steven Cateron said he asked the guys and girls to show him how they’d wear the pieces in their day-to-day lives and found that many of the women were reaching for men’s pieces, like retro varsity jackets and classic blazers. We’re guessing a lot of guys were into the soft giraffe-spotted jacket on the “women’s” side too. Going forward, Cateron is planning to mix the men’s and women’s pieces together in the stores rather than divide them on opposite walls or floors—an old-school model that no longer feels necessary in 2018. He also showed his first line of women’s shoes—luxe yet affordable flats, embossed mules, and ankle boots—and a men’s range is likely next.
