Happy Fashion Week.

Tribecan Jason Scott, who’s eponymous clothing line took up a storefront on Franklin until 2021, still thinks the future of retail is bright. But it’s different.

He took the second floor of 68 White, a loft building just west of Broadway (the previous tenant was Skyting Yoga), in the heart of the pandemic and set it up as both office and showroom. And while he originally imagined he would see customers there by appointment, the space is now open during weekday business hours, so folks can see everything in person, feel the fabrics, visit with the pups. (That’s their pro photo above, but I prefer my outtakes below.)

“Retail is going to come back, but in a different way — stores jam-packed with racks of clothing will not be the way,” Jason says. “The term ‘experiential retail’ is overused, but I think it is along those lines. Customers like seeing the whole operation. People want to do something other than shop, but they also want to be able to return things, to touch things.”

Lately a lot of direct-to-consumer companies have set up storefronts (I am thinking of the new Citizenry store in Soho) with the goal to build their brand — a prominent store like that, Jason says, can build a connection to shoppers where Instagram cannot, even if no one purchases anything in the store itself. “They want some sort of connection to brands and to do that you need some sort of physical presence.”

Jason, who’s 41, started his line in 2013 in LA, and opened a storefront in the West Village a couple years later. The Tribeca store opened in 2018, and the brand settled in: Jason lived here and he felt the neighborhood was embodying the heart of the brand.

He’s now raising an A round of financing to invest in the website, ads, growth — all from the cozy office on White Street. He also hopes to use the space for events.

“What other brand can you shop and meet the whole staff?” Jason said. “I like that it’s not in your face. A little more intimate. Maybe I’ll add a sign — anyone can come up. But for now if you know, you know.”

Jason Scott
68 White | Floor 2 | Church & Broadway
Monday – Friday, 10a to 5p
646-449-0079