An iconic Melbourne fashion destination, Cose Ipanema, is closing its Collins Street store after 25 years.
Cose Ipanema has long offered luxury and high-end fashion for both men and women and can be credited with introducing Melbourne to the Japanese brands Comme des Garçons, Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake, and Belgian labels Dries Van Noten and Dirk Bikkembergs. It has also always kept things current with pieces from French and Italian powerhouses Jean Paul Gaultier and Dolce & Gabbana.
“When it opened, there was nothing like this in Melbourne. It was very European, very Milan-looking,” manager and buyer of 20 years Sam Hussein tells Broadsheet.
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SIGN UP“Concrete iron work, a stunning, beautiful building with lead-light windows. They are hard to find in Melbourne at the moment with the pulling down of old buildings.”
While Cose Ipanema has been in its current city location for 25 years, it has been a resident of the CBD for over 40.
“Owner Tony Da Silva started at the top of Bourke Street, then moved to the Block Arcade, then the Hyatt” before moving to the store’s current location on Collins Street.
“With high rent and being one of the small fish in the sea, it forces you to move on.”
Cose Ipanema will consolidate stock at its Toorak Road store, which will remain open.
Before its official closure on February 24, the store is clearing archived stock as well as current collections and is offering up to 90 per cent off.
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