Better Gift Shop opened in Toronto's Chinatown in 2018.
When Better Gift Shop announces a new drop, the likes of LeBron James and rapper Young Thug are listening. Based in Toronto, the streetwear brand has a global following that includes leading concept store Dover Street Market, which has a Better Gift Shop kiosk at its Los Angeles and Tokyo locations.
Better Gift Shop is the creation of Avi Gold, who kicked off his fashion career with Bootleg is Better, a line of clothing inspired by hip-hop and skate culture that appropriated recognizable imagery such as classic movie logos and celebrities including Larry David. “It was really DIY when I started,” Gold says. As his online following grew, Gold evolved his brand into an e-commerce concept he called Better Gift Shop. It was his spin on a classic gift shop, selling unique items Gold had sourced that shared his aesthetic alongside his own line, which he shifted away from bootlegged pics to his original designs. “I never wanted to be pigeon-holed as somebody who just makes ironic T-shirts,” Gold says.
In 2018, Gold opened his first physical retail store in Toronto’s Chinatown. It’s a homey space stocked with a selection of pieces by Better, as well as magazines, artwork and some vintage apparel. Online, the brand’s new product launches regularly sell out, something Gold credits to his talented creative collaborators and friends. “By looking at what they’re doing through a certain lens and incorporating that into what I do, that’s how I managed to appeal to lots of people.”
Better Gift Shop, 558 Dundas St. W., Toronto, 647-558-5034, bettergiftshop.com.
Better Kuumba International Metal Can Incense Burner, $260.
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Better Gift Shop / Stüssy Pool Hall Tee White, $50.
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Better Gift Shop / Cactus Plant Flea Market Double Vision Smiley Rug, $520.
Style news
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