Caron Callahan partnered with Wythe Hotel to create an edgy pop up shop, which runs through Decemeber 28th. Wythe is no stranger to off-beat cool, so it’s a grand juxtaposition for Callahan’s vision. This isn’t just a shop for apparel and gifts, but imaginatively curated to represent the quintessential Brooklynite and the traveler with a keen eye.
I got to peek inside Caron’s sartorial philosophy, concept, and her favorite elements in Brooklyn.
GP: What inspired the concept behind Caron Callahan at Wythe Hotel?
Caron: To bring my friends and the local designers as well as friends of the hotel into one space, and edit the collections to an approachable assortment for local residents and hotel guests.
GP: What is your process for curating products?
Caron: I’ve really thought a lot about finding products that appeal to the large scope of people coming through the hotel, but have still tried to maintain design elements that work with my collection or represent some of the great talent working in Brooklyn.
GP: How has being a designer influenced your selection process?
Caron: I want to bring in lines that are designed in a similar fashion as mine – well thought out, good quality, functional and with a unique point of view.
GP: I love your style sentiment: “making clothes for a creative, spirited woman who loves fashion but doesn’t necessarily follow it.” Can you shed more insight on this vision? What is this woman like?
Caron: I love fashion, but as I’ve matured out of my 20’s, I just don’t have the time or willpower for all the nonsense that sometimes comes with it. I design clothes for a woman who gets excited about a cool dress just as much as a great film at BAM or a new author mentioned in the New Yorker.
GP: What are some of your favorite pieces in the Wythe shop?
Caron: My favorites now are one of my oversized cotton poplin shirt dresses paired with a Lauren Manoogian Blanket vest and a leather Britten bag from Marlow Goods.
GP: Are there any pieces you’re looking forward to carrying?
Caron: We are continually getting new pieces from Suzannah Wainhouse, and are expanding the apothecary selected by Jessa Blades.
GP: Your label is based in Brooklyn – how does the borough affect your label, the shop and your own style?
Caron: It is absolutely a large part of my life. I’ve been living in Williamsburg since 2000 and, despite its massive transformation, I still love being one of the many of creative individuals who live here. If I design a complicated skirt, I rethink it and consider how it would look at a local bar or restaurant. Or if a woman can comfortably wear a piece from my collection walking to the train or at her kids’ playdate. Women need to their clothes to function, and Brooklyn is my reminder of that.
The shop hopefully represents a small number of the best companies working in Brooklyn. A lot of the brands we carry, including my own, are figuring out how to navigate the marketplace and succeed on their own terms, and that attitude seems quintessentially Brooklyn.
Caron Callahan (thru 12/28)
10am-8pm
80 Wythe Ave. at N. 11th
718-747-4493