Swop threw a party for its South Melbourne launch, its biggest store to date

Photography by Brianna Da Silva

words by fashion journal

A warm welcome to the city’s newest pre-loved fashion destination.

The last Friday of March was cause for celebration, as Swop unveiled its most ambitious store to the city’s fashion in-crowd. It marks a milestone for the national secondhand chain, the fourth outpost in the country and the second bricks-and-mortar in Melbourne.

As of this week, Southsiders won’t need to trek to Collingwood to peruse Swop’s pre-loved and vintage designer racks. Its new light-filled, 500-square-metre warehouse in South Melbourne is an impressive setting, big enough to welcome buyers and sellers from both sides of the Yarra.

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“Melbourne has always had a really strong appreciation for what we do,” says Swop founder and director, Brigid Gordon. “Over time it became clear that the demand had outgrown our Collingwood store, so expanding further within Melbourne felt like a natural next step.”

When it came to designing the space, long-time collaborators and friends, William McRoberts and Joseph Gardner of Studio Gardner came on board. “The brief was to create a space that feels like walking into a Parisian or New York gallery – elevated but still accessible and welcoming,” Brigid adds.

Located at 82 Clarke Street, the new store is now open from Monday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm. “We expected it might be more of a slow build, but the store has been busy from the start. It’s been so nice to feel the south side community embrace us and respond to our arrival so positively,” she says.

For the official launch, Swop leaned into the warehouse-party feel of the space and invited friends, collaborators and customers to celebrate. There was style inspiration in spades – not only on the artful displays of merch but on all the best-dressed guests. Here’s how the night unfolded.