The Coolest Streetwear Shops Around the World

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

---

Backdoor Supply (Tokyo)

8-7 Motoyoyogicho, Shibuyaku, Tokyo, 151-0062, Japan

Hypebeast featured Backdoor Supply in its Tokyo Independent Store Guide just this month, and we have to give it to them — this place is definitely a hidden gem. It’s so off-the-beaten-path that it’s not even above ground. Located in the basement of a barber shop in Tokyo’s Tomigaya neighborhood, the store looks more like a mini showroom, with a single rack of clothes on one side and a shelf of folded T-shirts on the other.

The shop carries NYC labels like Only NY and Brain Dead, as well as local Japanese brands that are hard to come by in the U.S. Just one more reason to go to Tokyo.

RSVP Gallery (Chicago)

1753 N. Damen Ave., Chicago, IL 60647

One of the biggest and best luxury streetwear retailers just so happens to be located in Kanye West’s hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Opened in 2009 by Marc Moran, Don C, and Kanye’s right-hand man, Virgil Abloh, RSVP Gallery is a must-see if you’re ever in the Windy City.

The store itself is designed to look like an actual gallery, the art being the pricey designer clothing that lines the racks. The mix includes the likes of Givenchy and Alexander McQueen, but there’s affordable stuff in-stock as well, like Adidas and Diamond Supply.

This is also a Yeezy-friendly environment, so you know they keep Kanye’s Yeezy Season stuff on deck, along with Abloh’s Off-White and Don C’s line of sportswear-inspired pieces, Just Don.

Slam City Skates (London)

37 Endell St., London WC2H 9EE, UK

136 Bethnal Green Rd., London E2 6DG, UK

This is the thirtieth year that Slam City Skates has been serving the skate community in the U.K., and over the decades, the shop has attracted newbies and high-profile skaters alike.

There are currently two London locations, one in Covent Garden and one in East London, both of which are impeccably designed. The first thing you’ll see upon entry are the huge board walls that showcase skateboard decks like hanging wall art.

Slam City Skates is an authentic skate shop, so they have pretty much anything you can think of if you’re genuinely interested in the hobby: decks, hardware, and advice from actual skateboarders on staff (one Reddit user described the people that work there as "legit as fuck"). They also sell footwear and apparel by major skate brands like Vans and HUF, and some of the much-hyped-about brands of today, including Palace, Fucking Awesome, and Thrasher.

KITH (Brooklyn)

233 Flatbush Ave., Brooklyn, New York 11217

644 Broadway at Bleecker St., New York, NY 10012

64 Bleecker St., New York, NY 10012

KITH has quickly become one of the shining jewels among New York’s clothing and lifestyle shops, capturing the attention of city kids and publications like the New York Times and Business of Fashion (we’re fans at Racked, too). Ronnie Fieg opened the first shop in Brooklyn in 2011 and has since debuted two stores in Manhattan — a men’s location and a separate one for the ladies, KITH Women.

In a conversation with Racked in 2015, Fieg said that his biggest design inspirations for KITH’s brick-and-mortars were luxury boutiques like Colette and Dover Street Market. That would explain the marble floors, stainless surfaces, and the ceramic, lifelike Jordans that line KITH’s walls.

At each of the locations you’ll find big names like Canada Goose, Helmut Lang, and Rag & Bone; footwear labels ranging from Nike to New Balance and Timberland; and smaller, lesser-known brands like Acronym and Fear of God. There’s also KITH’s in-house line of beautifully made athleisure.

Oh, and, you’ve never experienced true childlike bliss until you hit up its cereal bar, KITH Treats, at the Brooklyn flagship.

Surrender (Singapore)

#02-31 328 North Bridge Road, Singapore 188719

The Surrender shop in Singapore is just a little over ten years old, but it’s already become a landmark for any and all streetwear nerds that visit the island. It’s located in the luxury Raffles Hotel Arcade, which would explain the price points. Notable offerings include the Japanese brands Visvim and Neighborhood, and European designers like Gosha Rubchinskiy and Marcelo Burlon. Its women’s selection of sneakers and tees is also pretty great.

StarCow Paris (Paris)

62 Rue Saint-Honoré, 75001 Paris, France

StarCow is your go-to Parisian hotspot for curated streetwear and skateboard-inspired apparel and footwear. According to the blog Hip Shops, it was founded in 2001 and has "opened the doors to many French brands on the market."

The aesthetics are definitely super French, too. Dim lighting, hardwood floors, and brick walls greet you upon entering. Here, you’ll find a mixture of outdoor and casual items you can mix and match, like a North Face jacket and a Thrasher Hoodie, or a Patagonia fleece with a Stussy tee.

Supply Store (Sydney)

Burton St & Riley St., Darlinghurst NSW 2010, Australia

Complex named Sydney’s Supply Store one of the best menswear shops in Australia, calling it the "Mount Rushmore for Australian hypebeasts." Since its founding in 2002, Supply Store has been offering both local and imported brands from all around the world to Aussie customers.

The shop space is super intimate and organized with concrete flooring and brick walls (and a little darker than you might imagine sunny Down Under). Inside you’ll find cool Japanese brands like Wtaps, graphic T-shirts by Fuct, and its own in-house line of caps, tees, and jackets.

Nomad (Toronto)

Richmond St. W, Toronto, ON M5V 1X9, Canada

Toronto may be home to some of music’s greats (Drake, the Weeknd), but it’s also home to Nomad, one of the most notable streetwear shops in Canada. The Toronto-based blog, BlogTO, described it as a veteran player in the city’s menswear scene.

The interior is super rustic, with wooden tables, cement floors, and industrial pipe style clothing racks that carry high-fashion options from Damir Doma to Raf Simons alongside Vans and Justin Bieber’s Purpose Tour merch. This is Canada, after all.

Stadium Goods (New York)

47 Howard St., New York, NY 10013

If you’re looking for an in-person resale sneaker shopping experience, then Stadium Goods’ NYC shop is one of your best bets. Founded by Jed Stiller and John McPheters in October 2015 in New York’s SoHo neighborhood, the shop is frequented by big names in fashion and hip-hop, like Cam’ron and DJ Khaled.

The shop is very minimal, with museum-like rows of rare, hard-to-find sneakers wrapped in plastic to preserve their condition. And when we say rare, we mean rare. There’s a pair of Yeezy Boost 350s on sale for $1,225 and Air Jordan Retro 12 DB’s for $9,500. Lower-priced options include some limited-edition Supreme clothing and accessories and Nike Air Max sneakers in a variety of colors.

If anything, it makes a great window shopping experience for all the sneakerheads out there.

Firmament Berlin Renaissance (Berlin)

Linienstraße 40, 10119 Berlin, Germany

A visit to Firmament is absolutely necessary if you’re ever in Berlin, Germany. These guys are always doing some cool-ass pop-up shop with under-the-radar brands like Rapha Mondial and OnePlus, which often result in some seriously long lines (which are documented on Instagram, of course).

The shop looks like the walk-in streetwear closet of your dreams with wooden walls, backlit clothing displays, and plenty of minimalist looking racks and glass cases where you can ogle at shoes and accessories.

Highlights here include cult favorite Bianca Chandon T-shirts and hoodies, big brands like Stussy and New Balance, and accessories brands like G-Shock and Maple.

Union LA (Los Angeles)

110 S La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90036

Union LA may be your favorite street style star’s current go-to store, but it also has some pretty deep ties to other greats in streetwear history. The store was opened in 1989 in New York’s SoHo neighborhood, and was once owned by Supreme founder James Jebbia before Supreme ever existed, according to a 1993 New York Times article.

Today, it’s a West Coast streetwear staple located on South La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles right next door to a host of other skate shops like Stussy and Undefeated. The space is filled with some pretty sick decor, including sleek glass displays, plants, and framed posters and artwork.

Its clothing selection is on the higher end and includes designers like Thom Browne, Public School, and fashion up-and-comer Gosha Rubchinskiy.