.jpg)
Sherri McMullen is on the line, telling me about her new McMullen store, which officially opens on August 12th in the Presidio Heights district of San Francisco. It will be her second boutique; her first, now 17 years old, is in the neighboring city of Oakland. As she is talking, all I can think about is my lousy timing. (The story of my life—but that’s another story, for another time. Or maybe even another life.) I was just in San Francisco for an all too brief work trip with my colleague Nicole Phelps, and I absolutely fell for the place. The view from me, an adopted New Yorker, was that it was a city possessed of a palpable calmness and beauty and spirit that was captivating. I was just a tad too early to see her new boutique, but even on a flying visit, McMullen’s reasons for wanting to open resonated.
“I’ve always loved San Francisco—I’ve lived here for 20 years and [opening the store] felt like a full circle moment,” she said. “I look at the city as this hub of innovation and creativity—and as a community of independent thinkers.” McMullen would know, since innovation and creativity is her stock in trade. Ever since she opened McMullen nearly two decades ago, it’s become known for her ability to bring together the biggest names in fashion (Dries Van Noten, The Row, Proenza Schouler) with its newest talents (Christopher John Rogers, Diotima, Zankov)—and all with a sense that giving voice to (and placing orders with) designers of color, and designers from all over the world, is the right and responsible thing to do.
And it’s the independence of the designers she sells, she said, which resonates with her customers: “San Francisco thrives on people who are creative. So there’s a customer who’s very conscientious, who wants to know how things are made, who cares about sustainable practices—and all of that informs how she spends her money, and who she is spending it on.” Her Presidio Heights store—housed at 3687 Sacramento Street—will carry the same mix of brands, finally allowing those who are SF residents but maybe never made it to her Oakland outpost to finally see what her store can offer in person.
In addition to the designers already mentioned, you’ll find Lisa Folawiyo, Wales Bonner, Kimeze, and Burc Akyol, as well as a local designer, Kamperett, among others. Yet there’s definitely a global view at work. “We’re able to tell the stories of designers who really care about slow fashion, the beauty of pieces which take months to make—and those aren’t necessarily coming from Paris, but maybe Africa,” McMullen said. “And people here are really embracing that.” In other words: In this city, life and style are given equal weight. “Fashion here is seen as an expression of your lifestyle, and how you might think about so many different things,” she had gone on to say. “We see so many ways to express ourselves through what we wear.”
.jpg)
What is closer to home is her vision for the look of McMullen’s store, which is in a Victorian building, something she wanted to respect, and work with. She partnered with interior designer Noz Nozawa of Noz Design, whose aesthetic is a harmonious blending of fabulous colors, organic woodsy materials, and all the opportunities that come out of being playful with geometry. “Noz is really talented,” said McMullen. “She understands the vibrancy of this city because she has worked here for so many years. We wanted to create this space that felt very inviting but also very sophisticated.” That’s evident in the way that the minimalism of the moldings Nozawa designed are amplified by an elegant ivory and gold console table, or the vintage Ethan Allen sofa that was reupholstered in a golden tan Kravet velvet that Nozawa’s team sourced. Presiding over all of this is a portrait of McMullen by Oakland artist Taylor Smalls.
Obviously, the opening of a second store for an independent retailer like McMullen is a big deal; a chance to consider how far you’ve come and all that you’ve accomplished. But kudos to her too for her vote of confidence in the city. Not to deny or diminish the challenges San Francisco has faced in any way, but my own trip affirmed just how amazing it is, with so much to offer, from its incredible food scene to the strength of its culture, whether it’s the SF Moma (on my quick spin there, the highlights were shows from the queer South African artist Zanele Muholi and a celebration of the rightly lauded art organization Creative Growth) or the de Young Museum. (McMullen, incidentally, has loaned two looks for the latter’s wonderful Fashioning San Francisco show, both by Christopher John Rogers.) McMullen is cognizant of all that. She feels it. “I moved here when I was a young girl, and started my career, and I have never left,” she said. “It’s home to me.