story

My name's Nicolas Ivars, I'm the founder of The Next Door. Today, my role is to pass on everything I've learned in the fashion industry to my teams, and to let them express themselves.

The Next Door was created in Avignon, in the South of France. But very soon, inspiration came from our travels. Tokyo, all the major fashion cities. Paris is like a playground. So it is really fulfilling 

to be doing fashion in Paris for a living today. The first business I started was a skate shop called Circle. Funny thing is, the store was literally located next door.

The Next Door is also about the next door we're gonna open. Who knows what's behind it? My name's Habib. I'm an associate director and a manager. With my team, we handle everything related to purchasing and management.

Despite the space we own today, we're still an independent shop. We're fortunate enough to be distributing brands that few stores in France have. That's the reason people come to The Next Door in search of something unique. I'm Maxime. I run the footwear department.

When it comes to sneakers, I handle everything from the Floor to purchasing to marketing activation. Everybody gets involved, from our sales assistants to those who handle our supplies. Everybody gets their say in how we run things. If you look at this massive space we have, with several stories, if you look at our Instagram where we post all the time,

you'd think "there's gotta be at least 40 persons working there" Turns out, it's just 15 of us. That's our greatest strength today, this familial vibe. We're always talking to each other, that's our strength, and it transpires in the way we run our shop.

People who work for The Next Door and who conceive the silouhettes you can see on our site have created this specific design that's unique to us. It's something we're really proud of. One of our strengths is we do our own purchasing. We buy what our clients need. Our design blend modern styles with the heritage of fashion.

In Tokyo, I discovered brands that really understood these codes, when it comes to fabrication, to materials, with destructured jackets, leaning into the codes of street culture, but using noble materials. Today, I think that's what characterizes The Next Door's DNA.

At first, we had two floors.The ground floor was more fashion-oriented, and the basement was devoted to sneakers and streetwear.

In September 2022, we've opened a new floor for accessories. And on the second floor, there's a yoga studio. The idea is to make The Next Door into a wellness space, something more than just a retail store. We're proud to have created our own community here in Paris.

In the future, I think The Next Door will be more than just a shop. It will become your go-to place in Paris, somewhere you can go to discover new designs, to express yourself, to share things with others. If I had to name what defines The Next Door today, I'd say it's our team spirit, human relations, and the will to create a space for sharing.

Talking Shop: The Next Door