Shopping IRL at SSENSE Was Kinda Fire, Kinda Cursed
Yes, there's a real storefront in Montreal. It's...strange
Montreal, what a town!
A place that embraces the intersection of decadence and dignity; from naughty poutine slop to refined boundary-pushing cheffery; from Dime’s rowdy skate challenges to JJJJound’s consultant core that graces the backs of overpaid guys around the world adjusting the kerning in their vacuous decks.
A city that begs the question, “What if Paris didn’t love the smell of its own les farts?”
It’s here, away from the 2000s Williamsburg-shaded (derogatory) Mile End and Le Plateau and smack in the middle of the tourist-infested (derogatory) neighborhood of Old Port that the behemoth SSENSE has a physical store.
Most people, it feels like, only know about SSENSE’s e-commerce operation. And anyone who I did fill in about the retail location were initially circumspect. How could it even be possible that the sprawling online shop with 7 million brands and 700 million pieces of clothing (that you can usually get for 70% off) have an IRL establishment? And would it feature the same jaw-dropping styling (both derogatory and complimentary) and the employee who you gotta assume is extremely drunk every time they create a size chart?
SSENSE can be a touchy topic. With it’s massive scale that ballooned during the pandemic and the glory days of clicking “Buy Now” just to feel something, it’s the biggest fish in a shrinking retail pond that dictates its own terms and can bully around the guppies fighting just to survive.
The sales are absurdly early and discounts disconcertingly steep, which, okay, yeah, may be good for us consumers in the short-term, but those are just the most conspicuous digital dark arts that I’ve heard have caused some small brands to swear off the retailer entirely…once their contracts were up, of course.
And can you imagine being a small storeowner operating in the SSENSE Era? It takes some serious trust in oneself and faith that enough buyers won’t just price sort the internet low-to-high, a game SSENSE will win every time.
With those guilty conscience caveats out the way, me and some homies hit the IRL SSENSE store. I’m not gonna lie, it was a heady mix of unbridled jawnz enthusiasm and kinda weird jankiness.