Adelaide Arcade’s ambitious new fashion hub
A new fashion hub opens in Adelaide Arcade this weekend, spotlighting local South Australian fashion brands.
GALERI is the latest tenant to join the Adelaide Arcade, moving into the 120 Grenfell Street spot, which previously housed activations like the art exhibition SKIN by Lilli Harrison.
The boutique is designed to be more than just an outlet that retails independent local fashion brands, with a social hub element to guide new creators, and host panels, jazz nights, and other activations.
GALERI co-owners Leon Kasperski and Shamsher Singh intend to lower the barrier to entry for local fashion brands.
“I don’t want to sugar-coat it, but it’s very hard,” says Leon.
Leon says competing with bigger markets interstate is a challenge, so leaning on the community is an advantage of being Adelaide-based.
“Shamsher and I believe that GALERI can be a real leader in the community and a hub for the community to foster,” he says.
The owner says GALERI has a “three-prong approach” as the fashion hub’s purpose is to elevate, grow, and entertain the South Australian fashion and creative community.
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The retailer will carry Leon’s brand Archives of Zobo, Shamsher’s Tauhfe, as well as independent South Australian brands Loli, Kotestand, Piraso de Tela, Yaneth, and Dalija, along with art by Catherine Nguyen-Hoang.
GALERI aims to offer a broad range of products with more “in the pipeline”, Leon says.
“You can apply to be part of GALERI, but we have a pretty high threshold just to make sure that not only are we giving our customers the best experience possible, but also, if we purport to show some of Adelaide’s best, we can’t be saying we do so if we don’t have a strict guideline,” he says.
GALERI will also act as a workspace for those aspiring to enter the industry, offering a creator’s subscription: a tool for helping, guiding, and connecting people and brands across the industry.
The subscription is for creators of any experience level, and Leon says that all they need to be is committed to the idea and willing to put in the time.
“We like the idea of helping people with smaller brands start or potentially brands at my level,” Leon says.
“There aren’t any requirements other than time … you can ask questions however frequently you would like – you don’t have to engage every single week, but we think that two months is very important to sort out ideas.”
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The aim of the hub – to encompass workshops and a variety of events as well as a place to shop – is reflected in the layout, as the location is decked out with couches and seating areas inside and out front, while around the store are walls for moodboards and exchanging ideas.
The left-hand side’s Creators Wall is intended to be a signature image for both customers and creatives.
“For DJs or jazz artists that come, that’s where they put their booth while still integrating into the store,” Leon says.
“We’ll set it up such that it becomes noticeable, especially on social media.
“Our aim is to host [an event] almost every week, and if not, then an activation as well.”
Leon says, “Speaking from brand experience, one of the harder challenges when you’re trying to build that community is having those physical events, because not only is this very costly, but also it is all the added things.”
“We’re very fortunate to be there … we wanted to have as much of a blank canvas as possible for our brands that we work with and the events as well.”
The store is moving with the support of Renew Adelaide and is its 23rd activation in the Arcade. Renew CEO Gianna Murphy says GALERI adds to the destination’s offering.
“Adelaide Arcade has long been a destination for fashion, arts and culture, and it’s promising to see that legacy strengthened through the vision of our city’s young and creative operators,” Gianna says.
The location’s opening comes just in time for Adelaide Fashion Week, which runs from October 8 to 12.
As part of Adelaide Fashion Week, GALERI will be hosting FEEDING THE CITY. The event will include live music, food, and design competitions, warming people up for what fashion week has to offer.
Leon says the idea behind it is to showcase SA locals and culturally feed the city, boosting the South Australian creative industry.
GALERI is Renew Adelaide’s 23rd activation in the Adelaide Arcade, and is located at 120 Grenfell Street.
The boutique will be launching with a grand opening party on Friday at 7pm, September 12, with limited tickets available from Eventbrite. It will be open to the public from 10am September 13.
