"It was literally the rise of the Phoenix. All these places that we knew and loved, they dissolved and died. Everybody had so much energy because we were mandated to stay in the house. When we made the announcement that we have a store, people were coming up, masking up, and they were buying shit."
"In the 2000s, spots like Alife, Supreme, and Dave's Quality Meat weren't just stores. They were cultural institutions where creatives congregated, friendships formed, and entire movements germinated. Alife Sessions were almost a rite of passage for performers; DQM's deli-themed interior and 'Bacon' Air Max 90 were conceptual art."
"It felt like our thing. Over the years, as it got more commodified and corporate, prices went up, places became less welcoming, and the spaces became less of a hub for creatives. There was a lot more gatekeeping."
LAAMS, founded by Scott Selvin, Joe Ro, and Stevie Skytel, opened on June 13, 2020, the first day of New York City's Phase One reopening. The lease was signed March 2, just before the pandemic shutdown. Rather than becoming a disaster, LAAMS emerged as a vital communal space for underground creatives during isolation. The founders sought to recreate the cultural institutions of the 2000s—like Alife, Supreme, and Dave's Quality Meat—that functioned as gathering places where friendships formed and movements originated. These spaces had become increasingly commodified, corporate, and gatekeeping-focused over time. LAAMS represented a return to welcoming creative hubs where people could gather, create, and connect during unprecedented isolation.
Read at Complex
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