It’s a fact well-known to Sydneysiders – and pretty much everybody else in Australia besides – that the strip of Oxford Street running through Paddington is one of the most characterful shopping destinations in the city. Now the likes of Parlour X and Sarah & Sebastian are getting yet more company with the arrival of Haulier on Paddo’s most recognisable thoroughfare.
“I’m beyond excited to be opening our first flagship here in my adoptive hometown of Sydney”, says Jeremy Hershan, Haulier’s creative director, who has been hard at work readying the space for its soft opening this week.
Conceived by Melbourne-based interiors practice Sibling, Haulier’s two-story flagship plays with the conceit of a typical inner city terrace house, transforming it into a capital-D retail ‘Destination’. The overarching fit-out is inspired by airport architecture of the 1970s (often referred to as the ‘Golden Era’ of commercial air travel), awash in powdery shades of primary colour; and bespoke fixtures that feel as though they’ve been transported from an Italian hospital in-period. Even the L-shaped benches, snugly off to one side of the first floor, don the guise of transit lounge seating – a thoughtful piece of experiential design, which also speaks to the amount of time you’re liable to spend salivating over the store’s wares.
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Despite its relative infancy, there’s compelling evidence to suggest that Haulier is poised to join the ranks of other similarly louche Aussie labels that appeal to globetrotting men of mystery. A veteran of European fashion houses, who honed his eye for all things artisanal further at legacy brands including Dunhill and Aquascutum, Hershan’s sole interest is in creating accessories – and now, clothes – built “for the long haul”.
That mindset has proven symbiotic to his aesthetic inclinations, which are informed in a big way by the ‘Sleazy 1970s’ and early 80s. “Back then, there were no celebrity stylists,” Hershan observes. “People travelled with grace and elegance, and had their [own] take on style. The tote bag we released, for me, was intended to complement that atmosphere.”
Naturally, Hershan’s passion for enduring goods, sweetened with a hint of porno-stache cool comes across handily in the new ready-to-wear collection – but it’s the signature ‘Utility Tote’ bag that’s likely to get customers, of all tastes and stylistic affiliations, on board. The best-selling canvas versions (available in ‘small’, ‘medium’ and ‘large’) make for an excellent everyday carry, and have been designed by Hershan in the same dusty, ever so slightly left-field shades you’ll see incorporated throughout the store.
That playful outlook is a convincing foil to just how seriously well each tote is made. Canvases are all woven on traditional shuttle looms – archaic machinery that gives the end-user a harder-wearing product capable of being made in smaller (ergo, less wasteful) batches. Add some high-quality trimmings in brass and veggie-tanned leather, and you’ve got the makings of a bag that’ll take you brusquely beyond the farmers’ market and straight into the priority boarding lane.
Haulier
Address: 300 Oxford Street, Paddington NSW 2021
Opening Hours: Tuesday – Sunday (10am – 5pm); Thursday (10am – 6pm)
