Photograph by Kevin A. Roberts
At 10denza (44 Maryland Plaza, 314-361-1010, 10denza.com), the hip factor is all in the details. The new Central West End boutique sells watches from TechnoMarine and ToyWatch ($350 to $900), sunglasses from Mosley Tribes and Dita ($100 to $500), and ALIFE and Puma shoes ($40 to $500). Beyond clothes and accessories, the store carries books, music, and artwork from painters like local graffiti artist Justin Tolentino. Boutique owner Chris Lanter conceived the store as a “retail lounge”—complete with an iPod listening station loaded with imports and DJ mixes,
as well as a DJ booth.
This place looks great. The fixtures are sustainable?
Our cabinetry is sustainable-forested white oak. Mwanzi, out of South City, did a lot of it. Space architects, also based here, did all of the design on the interior. I wanted to use creative local talent to put the store together.
This store has a little bit of everything.
I went hunting around in Chicago, Manhattan, Paris, and Miami, and I liked some of the concept stores where they were bringing these mixes together in one place. So the boutique carries shoes, along with apparel, music, art, and design.
What lines are you excited about?
Manhattan Portage—the original bike messenger bag from New York City—and iSkin iPod and laptop bags. Right now, I’m also excited about our Kidrobot selection. Art toys started in Hong Kong and Tokyo in the mid-’90s; they’re artist-designed vinyl and plush toys. We’re the first to bring a large selection to St. Louis.
Tendenza means “trend” in Italian. How do you plan to stay current?
Change is going to be a continual catalyst within the store. We’ll be listening to our customers and have a blog attached to our website for commentary. Fashion, style, and gadget bloggers will also be a source for new product.
Do you think that St. Louis is hip enough to embrace the store’s concept?
We don’t give ourselves enough credit for knowing what’s going on. Before, maybe it took some time for anything from either coast to reach the Midwest, but now I don’t believe that time is a factor with the Internet.
