PARIS — When New York-based men’s brand Colbo presented its first women’s capsule during Paris men’s week, the debut marked an expansion.
It also coincided with the launch of its first shop-in-shop in Japan, at Estnation in Tokyo, which opened its doors in June, and the next drop of its collaboration with Sperry, with a summer boat shoe made of Italian jute and linen that launched July 10.
Unlike many young brands, Colbo was born from a store.
Its foundation is a multibrand retail space in New York that was designed from the beginning to be something bigger — what cofounder and designer Tal Silberstein called a “multidisciplinary space” where fashion, hospitality, music, art and community coexist.
The brand’s retail strategy has centered on community-building. Its five-year-old flagship combines a multibrand retail space with a coffee shop and hosts regular events spanning music, art and fashion.
The venue has hosted everything from fashion events and record releases to exhibitions and chef pop-ups.
Six months ago, the company expanded into the neighboring space to open an event-led wine bar, reinforcing an experiential approach that has become central to its growth strategy alongside wholesale and collaborations.
A peek inside the store’s new wine bar expansion.
That distinction is the core of the brand’s identity. While Colbo’s own collections have grown — expanding from menswear into womenswear, accessories and collaborations — the store itself will continue to be multibrand and multi-concept. The goal is not to turn it into a traditional flagship dedicated only to its own line, but to maintain it as a constantly evolving platform for discovery.
“We’re trying to build this lifestyle in the space,” he said. “[It’s] hospitality and event-forward culture, and kind of collaborative effort.”
Colbo’s first shop-in-shop in Japan.
That approach has shaped Colbo’s growth internationally. Asia has become a key market for the brand, particularly through wholesale relationships in Japan and across the region. The decision to introduce women’s pieces came in part from demand from Asian customers who requested the category.
The debut women’s capsule remains intentionally focused, introducing feminine shirts, skirts, trousers and hybrid pieces that build on the relaxed, artisanal language of the existing collection rather than creating a separate identity.
The same philosophy applies to Colbo’s product development. The brand’s fabrics are custom-made in Italy, while garments are produced across Europe through relationships with small ateliers. Silberstein approaches materials experimentally, using treatments such as painting, washing and distressing on usually more buttoned-up pieces, such as a seersucker blazer.
“I like doing things that feel easy and familiar from the first wear,” he said.
That idea is also at the center of Colbo’s ongoing collaboration with Sperry, which is entering its third iteration. The partnership reinterprets Sperry’s heritage footwear through Colbo’s lens, using a custom-developed Italian fabric based on a vintage sample he found.
The founder said the collection uses premium Italian materials, including custom-developed 100 percent jute and washed linen fabrics designed to look and feel broken in from the first wear. The goal was to reinterpret Sperry’s traditional aesthetic into something softer, more relaxed and even foldable for easy travel, with lightweight, packable shoes intended to feel lived-in rather than new.
“How do I make these Sperry shoes less preppy and more easy to wear? When you put them on, you shouldn’t feel like you’re wearing a new shoe,” he said of his design approach.
Colbo’s knitwear collection is designed to be versatile, spanning casual and more elevated occasions. Using lightweight technical yarns and relaxed silhouettes, the pieces are intended to be quick-drying and adaptable enough to work from everyday errands to formal events, in line with Silberstein’s overall ethos.
The brand has also slowly expanded its offering to include leather totes, clutches and ties, as well as unisex jewelry.
Courtesy of Colbo
Silberstein’s sustainability strategy centers on producing garments to order with small European ateliers to minimize overproduction and strengthen long-term supplier relationships. He also uses deadstock fabrics as much as possible, to prioritize waste reduction.
Case in point is an exclusive capsule Colbo and Estnation co-developed to celebrate the shop-in-shop opening. The collection is made from Italian deadstock fabrics, and introduces new linen and cotton-linen versions of its core silhouettes with three versions of its TK button-down shirt and two versions of its Big Pocket pant. The capsule also marks the brand’s first use of black colorways.
Following the Japan shop-in-shop, Silberstein is looking at other retail opportunities within the next two years.
The idea would not be to simply replicate the New York store, but to adapt the model to each location as he evolves the retail concept internationally.
L.A. is on the wish list, where he envisions “a different take” on the multi-disciplinary space.
“I like to think about how you can implement this vision in different places,” he said. “How do you tailor yourself to the city?”
A Paris version, for example, would likely take on its own character, shaped by the city’s food culture, creative communities and slower pace. It would remain a retail hybrid, with a place where people can linger, discover new brands.
“Probably not wine,” he joked, since Paris has got that covered. “You gotta sit down and unlock what’s needed — maybe a martini bar.”
Still, any European opening is a few years off.
For Silberstein, growth is not about moving away from the multibrand model that built the business. Instead, the brand will continue to expand the world it has created — part fashion brand, part retailer, part hospitality space and part community hub, as Silberstein is betting that the future of retail is less about selling more products than about creating experiential spaces.
