WE ARE THE MARKET

Blackbird Seattle

Seattle has no lack of good clothing stores. The city of rain and Starbucks ranks right up there with New York and LA when it comes to the sheer number of stores. That’s what makes it so impressive that Blackbird has risen to the top of the heap in a mere 2 years. Blackbird was recently honored as one of the 100 best Men’s stores in America by GQ.

How have they done it?

By stocking every cool brand you could ever want plus every cool brand that you’ve never heard of. Owner and buyer Nicole Miller boasts an knowledge of the market that even we here are impressed with. Along with her top 5 brands ACNE, Nom de Guerre, APC, Filippa K, and B.Son, the store houses brands that even the coolest kids may not have heard of, like Swedish denim brand Julian Red. The lifestyle store also sells fun accessories and great gift ideas for the holidays like Coal Headwear, scarves by Quentin and Claude, Thorn Jewelry, and men’s grooming products from Baxter of California.

What's Nicole’s secret to discovering new brands? Leave the country. She’ll be passing on Project Vegas in 2007 to shop the market in Paris. With all the cool brands, all the emerging labels, and all her knowledge of the industry, what is the one thing still missing in the world of fashion retail? “Money makers! There are not enough cool brands and that mid price range that retail stores can consistently move”, says Nicole. Sounds like an easy enough request, but who can pull it off (besides Cheap Monday)?

To find out more about Blackbird and for tons of really good fashion info check out Nicole’s blog at www.helloblackbird.blogspot.com.