Those who complain about the lack of fashionable boutiques in New York can now visit a new entry. Outline, an airy boutique in the Boerum Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, opens Thursday — headlined by Opening Ceremony and former Totokaelo women’s buyer Margaret Austin, along with two childhood friends.
If there’s one thing Austin has learned in the past year since she and partners Julia Edelman and Hannah Rieke started the project, it’s that it takes a village. “It’s given me back my faith in people,” said Austin, who relied on her community of friends to see the store through.
Located at 365 Atlantic Avenue, Outline addresses the needs of a neighborhood full of high-earning professional creatives who are increasingly working from home and want a shop to wander into on their lunch break or afternoon stroll. with the dogs. Located at the intersection of Cobble Hill, Brooklyn Heights, and Fort Greene neighborhoods, it—as an indoor-outdoor concept—offers ready-to-wear, home goods, jewelry, shoes, and fresh flowers.
Austin decided to take the plunge in mid-2021 while consulting on independent retail concepts for another person’s store. A friend told her it was time to bring her concept to life, and Austin — who had abruptly left the fashion industry in 2020 when Need Supply and Totokaelo closed and left him unemployed — felt a pang of re-entry. in the purchase ring. She quickly dropped out of a master’s program in library science, called Edelman and Rieke for help, and hired her friends at Goodspace to find a suitable location.
“People kept asking me where to shop. bird [Jen Mankins’ mini empire of shops that closed in early 2021] it was a huge loss and there used to be a Barneys [New York] on Atlantic Avenue. I feel like if I didn’t do it, someone else would. It just felt like the right time,” Austin said.
Austin enlisted Edelman, whom he met at high school ballet camp, to join the project as head gardener and director of programming. Until recently, Edelman worked as assistant farm manager at Brooklyn Grange. At Outline, Edelman collaborated with Grange on a backyard terrace that serves as the shop’s cut-flower garden and outdoor lounge. She will manage the back of the Outline space, offering freshly made-to-order bouquets for purchase.
Rieke, Austin’s friend from college, was previously the manager of Matt Jackson Studio – focusing on production and set design for various mediums including film, advertising campaigns and fashion. She has taken over as Outline’s head of visual merchandising and interior design.
“We have our own lanes and it works really well,” Austin said of the trio’s deal, which also calls for them to work as Outline’s sole store associates for the foreseeable future.
Outline, with 1,200 square meters of indoor space and a 570 square meter outdoor terrace, hosts a roster of emerging and established luxury rtw, homewares, accessories and — eventually — pure apothecary products. There are plans to program events and host trunk shows for emerging talent.
Those who know Austin have urged her to open her own store. With Outline, she finally had full control over a store’s entire assortment.
“It’s been an interesting process for me to find a way to speak to the neighborhood and bring in pieces that are trendier,” Austin said of the buying process. “We’re trying to find a balance – carrying some of my all-time favorites like Lemaire, Our Legacy, Dries Van Noten, Auralee Tokyo and Engineered Garments.
“For more female brands there is Runaway Bicycle and Maryam Nassir Zadeh. So it’s finding a balance between the two things, feminine with a utilitarian menswear perspective that’s a constant in my style. It’s less of a store trend [than my previous work] and more for everyday wear,” said Austin.
Outline also stocks china from Edelman’s mother, Jan Burtz, who supplies all of ABC Kitchen’s cookware and is the first US outlet for porcelain sensation Casa Adams online. There are rtw from brands including Connor McKnight, La Reunion and Flore Flore and jewelry from Alterita and Beatriz Palacios.
The store’s corrugated wooden fixtures were made in collaboration with Antoine Dumas and Benji Gavron, who have recently become close collaborators of Gabriela Hearst in both her namesake line and new retail concepts for Chloé.
Outline opens during what has become an independent retail renaissance for New York City. In the wake of blue-chip closures like Opening Ceremony, Bird and Barneys has come a wave of new stores following COVID-19. Highlights from last year include Salima Boufelfel and Roberto Cowan’s Desert Vintage on the Lower East Side and Amanda Lurie and Gina Esposito’s Tangerine in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
With Outline, Austin, Edelman and Rieke now add their voices to this moment.
“I am excited that we are in such good company. I’m just excited to bring my perspective, and especially to the square mile radius of Brooklyn where I grew up. I really wanted this to feel like a neighborhood store — of course I want it to be a destination, but I want it to have a real community behind it,” Austin, a Brooklyn Heights native, said of the space.
“People are tired of shopping online and are excited to go into stores and have that more personal experience. We wanted the space to go along with that and be inviting for an in-person shopping experience.”
