Warehouse sales, discount outlets and disposable trends are fading fast as 169 Smith Street opens its doors to an original and exciting concept, NEUW. Incomparable to other emerging brands, NEUW is a celebration of rock and pop culture, as well as a salute to vintage tailoring and premium quality denim.

Founders Richard Bell and Par Lundqvist present shoppers with a one of a kind, in-store experience. Bell explains “we’re all about the underdog. We’ve come from working for big corporate companies. Smith Street is where it’s totally unpretentious. Our brand and our store are going to fit in well with the people of Fitzroy.”

The duo’s undisputable desire to focus on quality control and individual character, reiterates the notion that NEUW are not driven by societal pressures to feed a consumerist culture with mass produced items. Uninterested in creating celebrity hype, Bell expresses that NEUW’s focus is on wearing a brand with “passion and pride, rather than sending free shit to people in the mail.”

(terrible photo, my apologies to Par)

Made from Par’s personal collection of reclaimed denim, the jean serves as a vehicle to express style, comfort and personality. Between alterations, washes, repairing and re-cutting, NEUW’s intricate process of ‘vintage revision’ is indicative of the passion and creativity that goes into each and every pair of jean.

For the guys, it’s all about the Iggy jean that exudes the rockers’ legendary style, character and edge. Ladies, there’s no going past the slim tapered silhouette of Patti Smith. The punk rocker jean revisits and reclaims the 1970’s, a lost look in contemporary manufacturing.

The NEUW range is priced between $150 – 200. Fashion Rebel will feature more from NEUW next year