LOOK&FEEL.
PRIORITY CONCEPT STORE
117
VIENNA
Bordercrossers
A person has to set priorities - in life and in fashion. At her Priority Concept Store, Russian-born Yulia Vashekina lives up to this by all means and has shown that exclusivity doesn't always depend on the price tag ‌ Text: Michael GinthÜr. Photos: Priority Concept Store
Despite its premium location and stylish ambience, the Priority Concept Store is geared toward the moderate price range: 1,000 euros is the absolute ceiling. This is the most anyone would pay for eNVy room cocktail dresses even though all pieces are one-ofa-kind and, as such, are pretty much bargains. Still, Vashekina doesn't waste any time thinking about getting her Priority Concept Store into the luxury segment. At first glance the store looks outrageously expensive, but a closer look shows a more trendy, self-deprecating interpretation of the word glamour. Whether it's purple ostrich feathers in flower vases, pseudo-baroque crystal chandeliers hanging too high for us to tell if they're real or fake, or the shelves, likewise purple and covered with imitation snakeskin: The Priority Concept Store may turn a few heads, but still manages to walk the line between trash and chic.
Owners Yulia Vashekina and Eduard Goldovskiy held an opening party in autumn 2010.
TV Fashion
The product range is also in keeping with the store's playful pushing boundaries: There are the glam-rock inspired jackets by shooting star Manuel Luciano, the flirtatious Gemma H wool outfits that bring back the warm, comforting thoughts of '60s apres-ski, and the Lindsay Lohan leggings, which, well, wrap a woman's legs not only in fabric, but also in a hint of scandal. There's no doubt that despite its sober-sides name, the Priority Concept Store has a weakness for the sexy glam world of pop culture. Vashekina is not too embarrassed to get some of her inspiration directly from television shows like Desperate Housewives, and not just from the runways of the world's fashion hubs. "Somehow everyone wants to be a bit like the girls on TV," she says. As a result, she's discovered mostly by those who take neither themselves nor their fashion all that seriously. The accessories are the best examples. The Angel Jackson bags as well as the Thierry Lasry sunglasses and Triwa watches are clearly affordable and exclusive only because they're so rare around here. The only really expensive items at the Priority Concept Store are the Japanese stuffed bunnies by Ease Design, but Vashekina simply found no alternative. You have to treat yourself sometime. In terms of the Austrian fashion scene, a few playful accents like these can't hurt. The former owner of three nightclubs in Moscow calls the local style grown-up, but it's entirely possible she actually means conservative. And that's why she's always on the lookout for labels that "can't be found in Austria," as she says, "because everyone here wants something that no one else has, something that's one-of-a-kind and exclusive." And that has absolute priority.
Priority Concept Store. Habsburgergasse 3, 1010 Vienna/Austria, T 0043.1.5338583 Opening: October 2010. Owner: Yulia Vashekina. Staff: 2. Sales area: 360 sqm. Labels: 6126 by Lindsay Lohan, 81 Hours, Amor & Psyche, Angel Jackson, Australia Luxe, Black Halo, Bailey, Ctrl you, Chaser L.A., Charley 5.0, Dear Cashmere, Denim of Virtue, Dirtee Hollywood, Donna Mizani, Ease Design, Eleven Elfs, eNVy room, Eyedoll, Gemma H, House of Harlow, Kenneth Jay Lane, Laila Azhar, Lauren Moshi. LnA, Love and live, Mackage, Manuel Luciano, Malababa, Nanuska, Nialaya, Paige, Paschbeck, Pleasure Doing Business, Stenim, Spare Soles,Supertrash, Triwa, Wildfox, Yummie Tummie.
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