Retail Watch: Assembly Takes The Cake

Designers and store-owners now cater to the needs of big time clothing connoisseurs on the Lower East Side. Shopping options for men's apparel have been popping up in the up-and-coming neighborhood for the last few years, but it's vintage laden Assembly that best embodies this new era of Downtown fashion commerce.

Owner Greg Armas took to New York with Assembly after the success of his Los Angeles-based shop Scout. Last spring, Armas received a sweet Big Apple welcome when Erin Wasson hosted his store opening. And, most recently, Aussie designer Gareth Moody unveiled his sharp, yet ghoulish line of artwork alongside his semi-new menswear line, Chronicles of Never. At Assembly, Chronicles shares space with coveted labels such as Ksubi, Corpus and an enticing compilation of vintage wear that's usually hard to come by. Armas explains: "With vintage, you have all these amazing fabrics predating synthetics that are impossible to create anymore—unless you're a YSL or Dior." We're just keeping our fingers crossed for the launch of a sister store of women's apparel.

—Vildana Kurtovic