Menswear in Prague
Three go-to stores in the Czech capital for menswear enthusiasts
by Adam tch
Prague isn’t exactly known as a city for menswear enthusiasts. Not long ago, there was a severe lack of high-quality stores to visit, and pieces from interesting international brands were all but nonexistent. But now the situation is slowly changing: three concept stores have opened in the past few years, which are devoted to educating men in the Czech capital about heritage brands, cutting-edge contemporary labels and a sartorially-led lifestyle.
Denim Heads brings to Prague cult and quality classic workwear, Room by Basmatee presents new young European brands and Classic Shoes has handmade leather shoes from the UK, USA and Hungary. Below we took a closer look at what each store has in stock.
Denim Heads
Founded by Stanislav Prochzka, Denim Heads is the number one place for workwear and denim devotees in Prague. Situated in the heart of the city, Denim Heads opened up nearly two years ago as a shop within a concept shop created by design studio Qubus. Today, rare jeans and other attire are sold next to the experimental porcelain from the Qubus collection here. This is the one and only place in Prague to find the finest Japanese denim from brands like Japan Blue, Momotaro, legendary Red Wing shoes and utility clothes with signature stripes from French label Armor Lux. Prochzka, as a big motorcycle fan, recently started to distribute English Barbour jackets and Swedish brands like Indigofera and Denim Demon. When visiting, be sure to stop for a beer or coffee and talk with Prochzka, who is one of the most knowledgable workwear fashion fans in Czech.
Room by Basmatee
Connecting streetwear with more sophisticated brands from around the world, Room by Basmatee has a strong clientele from the Czech creative scene. The shop was founded as Basmatee five years ago by Jan Lich, a Japanese translator. “Next to international fashion we want to be more a conceptual store and present special events and support young Czech designers as well,” say owners Lich and Ji Svoboda. The shop also collaborates with young Czech graphic designers to produce their own line of T-shirts and canvas bags. They have collaborated with Anymade Studio, Adam Machek of Welcometo.as and more recently with students from Academy of Arts and Design in Prague. In a simple interior highlighting with ropes as a hanging system designed by Ondej Voln of Skvadra studio, there are products from Ontour, Sixpack France, bags from French Cote et Ciel, leather shoes from Royal Republiq, Volta footwear and several other brands.
Classic Shoes
The latest addition to the Prague menswear fashion scene is Classic Shoes, a store located in the Smchov district. The store opened six months ago and focuses on high-quality leather shoes from some of the finest international brands. English legends Loake, Churchs or Alfred Sargent and American Alden are all available at Classic Shoes. One of the most interesting brands on the list is Budapest-based Vass, founded by respected shoemaker Lszl Vass. Classic Shoes also collaborates with designer and installation artist Veronika Jiroukov of Artkiosk to produce original window displays every season.
Images courtesy of the respective stores
