Naadam, the ethical and sustainable brand known for its luxurious, cozy cashmere sweaters and tees, is opening its first brick and mortar store.
The company offers men’s and women’s ready-to-wear and sources all its material responsibly and sustainably through nomadic Mongolian herders—co-founders Matt Scanlan and Diederik Rijsemus created the brand in 2012, after a trip to Mongolia. And now, Naadam is opening a pop-up shop at 266 Elizabeth Street in Nolita, opening Monday, September 11.
“Naadam is a New York-based brand, so we knew that we wanted to bring our brand to life in the place where it was born—outside of Mongolia, of course,” the brand’s co-founder and CEO, Matt Scanlan, told the Observer. The area “continues to be hotbed for emerging, independent brands and we knew that it was the right place to be for our first foray into brick and mortar retail. We also wanted to find a space that we could make our own, a blank canvas that would come to represent the world of Naadam.”
Indeed, the geographical source of Naadam’s cashmere inspired the interior design of the shop. “The pop up is designed to look like a Mongolian yurt—or Ger as they call it deep into the Gobi Desert,” Scanlan explained. “From the crown/oculus roof to the 100-year-old Mongolian rugs throughout the store, this is paying homage to the brand’s founding and to the Mongolian herders who work tirelessly to provide us with the fairest and rarest cashmere in the world.”
“The store is ultimately an abstraction of Mongolia—and is allowing us to represent our origins in a elevated, luxury setting,” he added. The pop-up coincides with the launch of Naadam Home, the company’s first foray into interiors. The three-piece cashmere collection is comprised of the Kilo Throw (aptly named after the full kilo of cashmere it’s made of), as well as the Kaido Euro Pillow Sham and Kasaya Pillow Sham and Pouch.
“With Naadam Home, we are able to expand our mission as a brand to a new aspect of our consumers’ lives, bringing the finest cashmere, at the fairest price, to the places and spaces where they often look for comfort the most,” Scanlan noted. “It’s about making the best possible version of that product.” That’s why Naadam is starting with three items in a slew of colors, resulting in a total of six variations.
Each month, the pop-up is hosting an in-store monogramming event, where shoppers receive the stitching free with purchase. There will also be a rotating “shop-in-shop,” featuring emerging brands that are dedicated to “conscious consumerism,” which is aligns with Naadam’s ethos of sustainability and social impact.
At the moment, the pop-up is expected to remain open throughout the end of this year, but Scanlan isn’t ruling out the possibility of a permanent shop in the future. “Naadam is entering an exciting next chapter, with new categories and new materials. So at this point, I’ll never say never.”