SSENSE is one of my go-to sites when I’m bored online. The Montreal based e-commerce retailer, pronounced “essence,” has become one of the preeminent online catalogs for what’s relevant in fashion today. What I admire about their website is not just their inventory – much of which is far too expensive for me to even consider buying – but their minimalist presentation and museum-like curation. When you first land on their homepage, you aren’t presented with new items or promotions, like most e-com retailers, but instead with interesting editorial content that often doesn’t even make mention of products in their inventory. The site navigations are understated, “MEN, WOMEN, SEARCH,” and the left side of the product index pages display their entire list of designers. What I take from this is a real emphasis on curation, rather than breadth, in their inventory. Their embrace of fashion is less of the GQ “wear this” and more artistic, an appreciation of what emerging designers are bringing to the party. When I browse SSENSE in my downtime, it leaves me feeling inspired and more in touch with where contemporary design is.
