Opera is the curated vintage store dreamt up by six Melbourne friends
IMAGE VIA @OPERA.OPERA.OPERA/INSTAGRAM
WORDS BY IZZY WIGHT
“Opera consists of six different friends who independently source and bring their own aesthetic and style to the space.”
Nestled among the warmly-lit bars, bustling cafes and leafy homes of Rathdowne Street, Opera is a new boutique offering archival designer pieces. Dreamt up by Melbourne friends Mattea, Luca, Marley, Hope, Pip and Netta, the store (which is conveniently located under Pip and Netta’s house) came to fruition “in a kind of accidental sequence of events”.
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It started with the store’s focal point – an old-school supermarket checkout counter. From here, a local blacksmith built custom Opera clothing racks and a “slick” street sign, while the six friends filled the space with clothing and accessories sourced from their favourite designers. Everyone brings “their own aesthetic and style to the space”, meaning each piece at Opera has a different story to tell. Below, the friends speak on their experience bringing the store to life.
How would you describe the store’s aesthetic?
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For the actual shop fit-out, it developed in a kind of accidental sequence of events based on what we stumbled across… starting from the supermarket checkout counter Netta found on Gumtree. The beautiful building and the name ‘Opera’ Marley came up with, accompanied by the graphics designed by Mattea… [which have] organically led the store in a more classic direction.
In terms of clothes, Opera consists of six different friends (Mattea, Luca, Marley, Hope, Pip and Netta) who independently source and bring their own aesthetic and style to the space.
What was the process like putting the store together, and were there any challenges or roadblocks along the way?
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It was all quite coincidental. We never intended on opening a store but Pip and Netta happened to live upstairs [and] the downstairs space became vacant so Pip joked about starting a shop lol.
We had to build a wall to divide the shop space from the rest of the house, but we were thinking about a million different things… [when] we accidentally locked our ex-housemate’s piano in the living room. It was a much more… of a financial weight than we had initially anticipated, and it’s been a journey making decisions with six different people involved.
Who did Opera collaborate with when bringing the store to life?
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We were so fortunate to work with Ben (@groove_fab), a local blacksmith. He executed our vision with customised clothes racks and our slick-y street sign. Mattea is a graphic designer, so we worked together with her to create our logo. The supermarket checkout counter came from this huge chaotic warehouse in Clayton that is littered with misc old supermarket items. We sourced a few different items from there for installs and the shop fit-out.
Can you talk about some of the pieces/brands you have available in-store?
Everyone has their own favourite designers that they consistently bring in. The store is mainly made up of classic European and Japanese designers such as Junya Watanabe, Prada, Miu Miu, MFG, Max Mara, Sonia Rykiel, Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake, Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Von Norten, Vivienne Westwood, Vivienne Tam, Gaultier, D&G [and] Miss Sixty.
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A particular piece in store right that comes to mind is some crazy Jeremy Scott butterfly platforms that haven’t sold for months… they may never sell, but they’re so ridiculous [that] we love them. Around one-third of the stock in the shop is made up of more inconspicuous designers, often pieces that are more unique or non-conventional to keep it a bit more interesting.
What’s your favourite feature/area of the store?
Alfred, our little man table on legs. We bought him from a lovely elderly couple up in the Dandenong Ranges who had named him and specially polished his dress shoes for our arrival.
What do you like about the area?
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The street is so pretty… we are so lucky to be in the Rathdowne Village. Next door to us there is a laundromat run by a gentleman called Winston, he keeps an eye on the shop and monitors the leaf influx. He is one of many Rathdowne street icons, [and] we love the ladies at The Biscotteria and our friends over the road at Florian too.
You can follow Opera here, and if you’re in Melbourne pay a visit to the new store at 308-310 Rathdowne Street, Carlton.
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