|
|
|
Vogue Fashion: Parlour
Catch Eva Galambos if you can. She’s forever jetting off to Paris, London and New York, you see, to snap up new labels. When you do catch her in her Sydney pied á terre- the freshly refurbished Parlour X boutique - you should ask her very seriously what you should buy. “I always tell my clients the absolute truth,” she says. “No-one walks out with anything that doesn’t completely suit them. That’s why they keep coming back.” That, and Galambos’ signature style, which filters through the store. “I’m quite daring, but at the same time I don’t want to look as if I’ve jumped onto the latest trend. I like things that stand the test of time. I still wear Vivienne Westwood pieces that are ten seasons old.”
Galambos opened Parlour X four years ago, as “a gallery-style boutique; a place where each garment was masterfully constructed and created, like a work of art as much as a piece of clothing.” She stocked local stars such as Zambesi, and hard-to-find European lines such as Westwood and the French label Yesmin Chambrey. Galambos soon became known for dressing Sydney’s smart set.
This year she undertook extensive renovations and, in March a new Parlour X was born. The grand space, designed by It-boy architect Nick Tobias, features a giant mirror etched with an original leaf motif by illustrator Juliet Ramsey. The cabinets are antique and the change rooms lined with vintage flocked fabric, while a vintage seven-seater sofa, which once graced a nightspot owned by Galambos’ mother, curves across the back wall. The effect is a little bit West Village, a little bit Left Bank – the perfect setting for the piles of posh new merchandise. “I’m thrilled to bits about our new labels,” she grins, citing Viktor & Rolf, McQ by Alexander McQueen, Junya Watanabe, Vivenne Tam, Anna Sui, Hussein Chalayan and Comme Des Garçons as favourites.
“Although this is an international store, Australian labels are still close to my heart,” she adds, pointing out select pieces by Josh Goot, Willow, and Camilla and Marc (co-designer of the later, Camilla Freeman, used to work in the store). “At the end of the day, there is no formula to Parlour X – except when it comes to staff.” So what are the rules there? “Well, they have to be brilliant, don’t they?”
Back |