FarFetch.com celebrated their U.S. launch at the soon-to-be-open-to-the-public basement lounge The Wooly last night where industry insiders honored the cross-the-pond collaboration of two online boutique giants.
Michael Mente, co-founder of the L.A.-based RevolveClothing.com, helped facilitate the deal with one of the UK's biggest and most successful department stores of sorts, which makes the collections of small boutiques all over the world available at, quite literally, our fingertips.
"I'm dying for an excuse to live in New York," confessed Mente at the basement lounge in the historic Woolworth Building. "People [here] are just going and going and going. I'll be here for a week or two sometimes, and at the end of it I'm tired. I couldn't imagine doing that forever but I'd love to give it a shot."
Among the new additions to FarFetch's roster are some of the Lower East Side's better-known boutiques like Assembly, Bblessing, and Eva New York. In support of the new venture, the still-in-progress Financial District hideaway welcomed the designers showcased in the growing U.S. catalog.
"FarFetch is great," said Alan Eckstein, one part of Timo Weiland, a recent addition to Barney's. "[Revolve was] actually our first buyer when we started off with neckwear. ... I love them, and they love our line, so I'm very into it."
The reception, in part because of the locale, felt surprisingly chummy -- just a room full of industry friends rubbing elbows and enjoying the open bar in the name of what is sure to be the woe of many a credit card.
