A.P.C.

Melbourne’s A.P.C (Atelier de Production et de Création) boutique has the pale oak, parquet flooring and aluminum fixtures reminiscent of its international sister stores. Yet its wide, eight-metre frontage looking out onto one of the city’s most notable shopping laneways makes it distinctly Melbourne. The store is designed by French architect Laurent Daroo, a long-time A.P.C collaborator and the designer of its London, New York and Paris outposts.

A.P.C is not fast-fashion – the clothing brand has always bucked trends rather than follow them. Founder Jean Touitou is notorious for giving discounts to teachers rather than courting celebrity endorsements and his designs, in his words, are a “search for subtlety.”

A.P.C stocks men’s and women’s apparel, quality denim and accessories and has done collaborations with M/M, Bonton, Vanessa Seward and a sporty-chic collaboration with Nike.

“Dare to pass as someone reserved, refuse the stereotypes of sexiness,” Touitou writes in an article in The Guardian, “that way you will spread the fever only where it deserves to be.” Here in Melbourne it seems our temperature is high.