Michael Tommasiello Michael Tommasiello | June 26, 2024 | People, Style & Beauty, Feature,
Summer is the season of pop-ups in NYC, and every so often, one becomes the talk of the town. Such is the case with founder Sean Venturi’s Venroy, the international luxury leisurewear brand popping up in Montauk and Soho this summer. Seen adorning models, influencers and jet setters alike, Venroy’s global inspiration, gleaned from Venturi’s extensive travels, has gained itself a cult following. Hailing from the sandy beaches of Australia, Venroy made stops in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Byron and Capri before finally joining us right here in New York.
We recently spoke with Venturi about what brought him to our fair city and what we can expect from him this summer.
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You mentioned that the collection is based on your travels - tell us a little bit about the philosophy behind that.
Venroy is very much a travel and leisure brand. We do five collections per year, and each collection has a destination theme. Generally, we will travel to a destination that we feel inspired by, immerse ourselves there and fly home to concept and design the collection. We then fly back to shoot the seasonal campaign. To me, nothing is more inspiring than travel, and sadly, we can't always spend time vacationing - so building little moments of escapism into our regular daily life is something that we really try and do.
How do the different locations inspire the clothing?
Being able to translate experiences into product is a really beautiful process. Local food, art, architecture and cultural nuances are so interesting to discover, and we try to work these into stories within each collection. The overall objective is to try and have this transferrable excitement about a destination that might, in turn, inspire our audience to travel to that location (or at least enjoy a moment of escapism).
You recently opened a location in Montauk—why Long Island?
Montauk, which opened last year, was our second Northern Hemisphere store opening, following Capri, Italy, in 2022. It was really important that our first U.S. store location was aligned with our brand - and having spent time vacationing in Montauk when I was younger, I was really excited to be opening a store in a location that ties in so nicely with our travel and leisure philosophy.
You’re also in NYC on Greene Street—how are you liking NYC so far?
Opening on Greene Street has been a very special experience. New York is truly one of the most incredible cities to spend time in. The energy here is so exciting—never more so than as it starts to get warmer—the city really comes alive!
What sets your designs apart from other brands?
I think the fact that we are Australian sets us apart. Growing up and spending so much time at the beach has a really strong influence on our way of thinking. Also, the fact that Australia is so secluded really makes us long for travel—no matter where you may find yourself in the world, you’ll often hear an Australian accent. Using these feelings in designing and creating collections gives a unique perspective.
The price point, the quality and everything about the collection work so seamlessly together. How did the concept for Venroy come together?
Venroy started out as an excuse for my best friend and me to build our own swim short collection, having collected trunks in high school. We started as a wholesale business - our largest account was Barneys for a number of years. It got to a point where I felt like our ability to focus on our clients was being so heavily interrupted - so in 2015, we pulled out of around 200 stores and opened our first store in Bondi, which is the area where I grew up and where the brand was born. We are really focused on developing luxurious product that is accessible and makes our clients feel looked after.
Where can we expect you to pop up next?
My heritage is Italian - so potentially, a second Italian store next year. Although I am really enjoying the U.S. so much, particularly being able to spend time between our Soho and Montauk locations, that I might try and find an excuse to spend more time here…
Photography by: portrait by Rommel Demano/BFA.com; all other images courtesy of Venroy