Underwear brand Viral Parade opens its first store – WWD

Underwear brand Parade will open its first physical store today. The label, founded by Columbia University dropout Cami Téllez in 2019, opened at 577 Broadway in Manhattan’s SoHo. It represents the evolution of Téllez’s ambition to establish a new paradigm in lingerie shopping. Like many new lingerie brands, Parade aims to appeal to women based on concepts of self-acceptance and self-expression rather than catering to men’s looks and mainstream notions of sensuality.

Téllez said a physical store is the next logical step in the company’s growth, citing market research that shows that 80% of lingerie purchases are made through offline channels. In late September, Parade revealed that it had raised a $20 million Series B funding round led by growth equity firm Stripes, bringing its overall valuation to $140 million.

“For us to reinvent the lingerie category, we had to go offline,” said Téllez, who is also Parade’s chief executive officer. “For us, the brand was born in New York and that is where our community comes from. So we chose this location feeling like it’s closest to contemporary culture. It’s a futurist, maximal space designed in contrast to the sexy lingerie stores of the past, as well as the consumer-oriented minimalism of today. [aesthetic]. It’s not just about selling but expanding our community and interacting with them. “The plan is to run the store through March and then reassess whether a larger location is needed or whether Parade is in its current space.

Inspired by ’60s and ’70s interiors, the 2,000 square foot colorful space was designed by Téllez in collaboration with top interior talent Xavier Donnelly. Despite its growing size, Téllez wants to keep Parade true to where it started. The salespeople wore psychedelic striped pajamas designed by indie label Tyler McGillivary, a friend of Téllez. The store also features artwork by previous Parade collaborators such as Jeanette Hayes.

Téllez said she wanted to break with the lingerie store tradition and carefully think about details like mannequin sizes, staff and display cabinets.

“We wanted to create an emotional experience of honoring the body and didn’t want any body type on display in the store. We wanted to paint a picture of inclusion and give a feeling of a more unconstrained surreal world. We don’t want people to feel like they’re rummaging through a dark table in the mall. We created a conversation space with art and culture, and consciously brought true art creators to tell a more interesting story when entering the world of lingerie buying,” she said. .

She added that plans for additional stores will be revealed in the new year and retail is an important strategy to help the brand achieve its goal of serving “more than 1 million customers”.

Over the past year, Parade has expanded its product offering from just underwear to a line of bralettes. Now it is slowly introducing sunglasses and overalls. Two months ago, the brand also opened its website to shoppers in Canada. “Our ambition is to be the next lingerie brand for everyone,” says Téllez.