Maroske Peech’s new Brunswick pop-up space captures the nostalgia of department store shopping

“The space has a sense of theatre and performance, with the back of house pulling the strings while the shop front puts on a show.”

The humble department store holds a special place in the hearts of so many circa-2010s teenagers. When we were little, an after-school trip to Myer was almost sensory overload; a cacophony of heels clicking, salespeople chattering and rails scraping with shiny plastic and metal-handled hangers. In adolescence, it was where our style would come alive, fuelled by display tables of patent leather dress shoes and mannequins clad in silky dress shirts and tailored pants.

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For the duo behind Melbourne-born label Maroske Peech, it was always about the theatrics. Elisa Keeler and Jordan Conder were both “secret thespians” who landed themselves in fashion design, launching their flexible ready-to-wear label almost by accident. And after capturing the creative world with their ballet and performance-inspired separates, Elisa and Jordan are ready for their next chapter.

Moving from solely online retail to a brick-and-mortar store is no easy feat – which is why the Maroske Peech pop-up store was the product of much thought, planning and inspiration-gathering. Located on Florence Street in Brunswick, the new space is about “making that move from online fashion label into a fully-fledged designer”. Below, Elisa and Jordan share how the pop-up vision was brought to life.

Tell me a bit about how the vision for the Maroske Peech pop-up shop came about.

Our pop-up shop is an extension of our 2022 collection, Mall Characters. Early on in the design and development stage, we naturally began to reminisce on the old days of department store shopping. We conjured up romanticised childhood memories of pressing our hands up against the glass displays at perfume counters and hiding in racks of clothes.

We were inspired by the films In Fabric (2018) and Mannequin (1987). Ecommerce has been at the forefront for independent labels like us in Australia and around the world because it’s accessible and manageable. After coming out of lockdown, we felt a reciprocated craving for community spaces and thought it was the perfect time to take the plunge into opening our own retail space, making that move from an online fashion label into a fully-fledged designer. Retail is all about aspirations, which is a theme within our work.

How would you describe the brand aesthetic?

Sexy, sporty, stretchy and vintage-inspired. Our references are often something familiar from the past, but it’s being retold now – especially our love for ’80s fashion and the nostalgic feeling it conjures. [Our work] also references performance and theatre, we always lean into that idea of a spotlit stage and a dream. We are actually both secret thespians who ended up in fashion school.

What was the process like putting the store together? Were there any challenges or roadblocks along the way?

For us, we really wanted the space to be flexible in layout, able to transform and even move around with us because we’re still such a small team. We are growing organically and need to be able to move our studio surroundings to respond to our calendar needs. The studio is in a consistent state of flux.

Our main intention with putting the store together was to achieve a welcoming environment that continued the Maroske Peech-isms. The shopping retail space is a stage and our workspace is situated just behind a semi-sheer curtain. The space has a sense of theatre and performance, with the back of house pulling the strings while the shop front puts on a show.

We sourced vintage shop fittings, like our beautiful ex-Prada countertop that used to be a perfume counter in Myer, and have a beautiful magazine rack with publications we often reference or have been featured in. Our fit-out is all DIY, we really wanted the space to feel authentic to our story and our pieces.

Who did Maroske Peech collaborate with on this project?

We have the pleasure of housing contemporary artist and curator Spencer Lai’s work Untitled (2022) from their show Huddling, friends with thermal benefits. The piece is an eclectic mixed media canvas of faux fur, balsa wood, cotton skull-printed fabric, a deodorant ball applicator and a crab claw. We also worked with photographer Myles Pedlar who shot the space for us, which led to the gorgeous dreamy images you can see.

What’s your favourite feature of the store?

The glass display cabinet. It really encompasses exactly what we lust for from the in-store experience, the ability to showcase visual merchandising through a Maroske Peech lens. It’s like a window of ideas and inspiration. We also love the window decals of our logo, especially in the right light when the shadow from the sun duplicates this branding on the concrete floor.

What do you like about the area/the Melbourne creative scene in general?

The sense of community, support and desire to grow together. It’s an exciting time for many creatives and you can tell it’s just the start. Launching our shop has also opened that experience up even more, and has given people access to us in person. We can have one-on-one conversations with our customers now, and talk about what they love and how they feel in our pieces, which is super important.

Start planning your visit to the Maroske Peech pop-up store here.