Angelo Baque, founder of the laid-back brand Awake New York, never felt gung-ho about opening a retail space. But his plans changed after the late designer Virgil Abloh gave him some advice. “He told me I had to open up a store,” Baque says of the conversation, which took place in 2020. “Virgil had taken a walk around downtown New York and digested the retail landscape. He was just like, ‘Something is missing. It doesn’t feel like the 2003 New York that I used to come to as a kid from Chicago.’” Baque recalls Abloh name checking his favorite stores from the time period: Nom De Guerre, Rivington Club North, Union. “All of these legendary retail spaces,” Baque said. “He was like, you basically owe it to the kids to open up a store.”
At first, Baque balked at the suggestion; a retail space is a risky and costly undertaking. But three years later, Baque finds himself fulfilling the late Alboh’s appeal. “I realized there was a gap for today’s generation,” Baque says. “Where are the great stores for them to go to like I did when I was kid?”
The first brick-and-mortar shop for Awake New York, located on 62 Orchard Street, opened last week. The store will dish out hoodies, graphic print tees, checkered polos, and other ’90s skatewear-tinged garb. The permanent outpost will be a great place to shop, Baque promises. But that’s not necessarily the space’s raison d’etre. “My goal is that people come here and it’s not so much about the transaction,” Baque says. He has fond memories of spending hours outside some of his favorite shops, simply skating and conversing with friends. “I wasn’t forced to buy anything when I hung outside these stores.” Besides, when Baque finally had the funds, he always paid the favor back. “When I made my first checks, I’d go back inside those stores and spend the money,” he says.
Baque hopes Awake New York’s SoHo store will operate in a similar fashion for contemporary young creatives. The space was designed by celebrated architect Rafael de Cárdenas, and features random tags of graffiti here and there, and a checkerboard accent wall. There’s also a matcha bar inside. Programming that includes panels, parties, and more will come. Baque says his mission was to harness the DIY spirit of the early-aughts fashion boutiques he loved, and put a luxury spin on things. Also, Baque added about the shop’s ambience, “It feels like you’re in New York.”
Such an inclusive, high-low approach should not be too surprising coming from Baque. Before launching Awake New York in 2012, he spent over ten years at Supreme, where he worked as brand director. Baque’s old boss there had a saying, “‘You’re not a real brand until you have your own store.’” (Supreme has crafted a distinctive identity out of experiential retail: its Williamsburg outpost features an in-store skate bowl.) As a result, Baque hopes a physical space for Awake will attract patrons, but also help the brand stick out. To further draw people in, there will be exclusive in-store products at the space— “I want a kid to come and be like, ‘Look, I went to New York and got the Awake tee.” And after this? He has his sights set on opening a store one day in Seoul.
