It was during an internship last year at H. Lorenzo – one of the most coveted addresses for high-end fashion in Los Angeles – that Liam Phillips got the retail bug. And now, at just 17, he has audaciously launched a boutique of his own in his hometown of Portland. The young entrepreneur had sensed a gap in the local market, and especially among the creative workforce of companies such as Nike, for avant-garde brands, and simply decided to set up shop. The resourceful teen initially started his business online, and now, only a year later, he has shifted to brick and mortar. Circumventing the lack of large funds, Phillips picked an affordable, and dare we say, fashionably concealed unit on the premises of Morgan’s Alley, a mall just off broadway in the heart of the city.

Called the Abeyance, meaning a pause of sort and usually in a legal situation, Phillips aims to create a pause, if not a meditative moment that enables one to find new balance in the volatile realm of fashion. The retail space measures 850 sq.ft. and boasts a clean aesthetic of whitewashed walls, paired with timber planking, simple wooden furnishings and steel clothing racks. As said, the Abeyance is a consignment shop, and exclusively stocks high-end menswear apparel and shoes by a tightly curated range of designers, including coveted names such as Rick Owens, Ann Demeulemeester, Comme des Garçons, Carol Christian Poell and Haider Ackermann. Living outside Portland? no worries, items can also be purchased online.

Photography: Aaron Levy, copyright: The Abeyance

https://superfuture.com/supernews/portland-the-abeyance-store-opneing