by Nicholas Isaza

As you descend the steps that will take you into Cueva, you feel you are about to enter a special place. Cueva, Spanish for cave, is a menswear store carefully tucked into the heart of the West Village. The store itself is beautifully organized, with racks carefully lined up against the wall and symmetrically placed throughout the rest of the space, creating a very welcoming, open space. However, the main attraction here is the incredible selection of clothing that is very hard to find anywhere else, even in New York City. Soft Italian tailoring from Barena Venezia hangs next to the ever-cool Swedish brand Our legacy, while Diemme footwear casually peeks out from the footwear section. These brands, as well as so many others, make this shop truly special, embodying a dedication to pursuing brands and creatives that appreciate beautiful menswear pieces. After having been a few times to browse the shelves myself, and always coming out with at least one new piece, owner Justin Felizzari stood out as someone who has genuine respect and adoration for the clothes and the community that the shop represents. Between helping choose looks with pieces from the store for a local shoot and running the day-to-day operations, I sat down with Justin and asked him about Cueva.

Nick: First off, could you introduce yourself, what got you into clothes overall, and how that ultimately led to Cueva? 

Justin: Yeah, so I think clothing for me, fashion in general, and style, in general, was always this passion of mine since I was a kid. I always cared about how I looked and kind of how I was putting outfits together, even from a super young age. My love for clothing and style and that lifestyle naturally came together over time to get us here.

Nick: If I’m not mistaken, Cueva has been around roughly a year and a half now; how would you describe what it’s like to own a shop in the city and the challenges that come with it?

Justin: Owning a shop in the city has been incredible and just overall a super unique experience. I also own a soccer shop on Long Island (https://casacalcio.com/ ), so I actually have quite a bit of retail experience. I started that at nineteen, working seven days a week for several years of my life, and now we’re on year eight there with an excellent team. The point here is that a lot of my retail experience was from there, so moving to the city and starting a multi-brand, independently-owned retail operation, I thought it would be very similar. Of course, the basic retail principles apply, but it is definitely different here and comes with a whole new set of challenges every day. That said, it has been a great experience, the community that has supported the shop has been incredibly supportive, for lack of a better term there, and it has really helped grow things.

Nick: I know you just touched on it a bit, but looking on the nicer side of things, what have been the best parts about having the store, and what would you say it’s taught you? Are there any specific highlights, such as events at the shop or cool people and interactions you’ve been able to have through the store?

Justin: I’d say my personal style has changed quite a lot. It’s been super influenced by all the incredible people that walk through the door, and I think a really cool thing the shop has brought to my life is the fact I meet these awesome, new people every day. I meet all these people that work in these super interesting industries, and to hear their life stories and see their personal style and lifestyle is such a privilege, if I’m being honest.

Nick: Speaking more specifically to the clothes themselves, what’s the process like since I know you guys partner up with brands and are constantly curating your offerings? What is the process like of having to look for these specific brands?

Justin: It’s a fun process, actually, but it can be challenging and stressful, of course. A lot of these collections are big and require a lot of thought and intention behind my decision for what to bring because they all just make some incredible stuff. When I go into it, I always tell myself, “just go in there man and choose what you know is going to work for the shop based on data, my personal point of view, and the direction creatively I’m trying to take the shop.” But then I actually sit down, and I’m like, “Wow, this is a lot harder” because all these collections are beautiful, and you can tell so many stories in just one collection. I think it is challenging, but it is a privilege to have this fun type of stress to tell a story based on the collection I see.

Nick: I love that you call it a “fun stress” and used that to describe this process.

Justin: That’s really just the honest answer. It is fun stress, but it is stressful. I mean, we are talking about this independent shop that doesn’t have this massive budget. When you’re working on a budget but still trying to tell a story and represent these brands in a specific way, it requires time and just that extra thought to make things perfect.  

Nick: Based on the fact that you are interested in putting together this specific idea with a lot of intentionality behind it, would you say you tend to cater towards an ideal customer, and if so, what would you say that customer looks like? In short, who would you say is the “Cueva man?”

Justin: I absolutely love that question; now let me tell you why. When I started this store, I genuinely wanted not to have a “Cueva guy.” I wanted the “Cueva guy” to be anyone that appreciates cool stuff, and that’s really it. I think these brands truly create wearable art, and the pieces I carry are their babies; it’s their passions, honestly, the blood, sweat, and tears, and I take that quite seriously. When I was curating this, I said I wanted to touch on different styles. Different styles are, of course, going to attract different types of guys. To tie this together, there is no “Cueva guy”; it is a genuine community of dudes that just appreciate good quality garments. I mean, that is the ethos of the brand that there is no one guy that it’s going to be; it’s this community from all different backgrounds and demographics.

Nick: To wrap up now, what’s next for the store? Do you plan on adding new brands, planning new events, or anything new you’d like to implement? Justin: I think events have been an incredible thing for the shop, it helps obviously build up the community, but it also just brings the local community together, which I love. I always want it to be more than just a place where dudes come to buy clothes. I want it to be this place where you can relate to like-minded individuals and people with similar taste levels, which I think is a special thing. New York, even though it’s a massive place, sometimes can get quite lonely. A lot of guys have been able to meet through the shop, so to be that kind of “bridge” for a lot of guys that move to the city is just the coolest and most important thing about building up this community. We’re definitely going to be having more events, and we’re going to try and innovate on the events, make them a little bit more dynamic and tailored to the story that the future brands want to tell. That will be challenging but, at the same time, just super fun to do. We’re also going to add a ton of new brands; for this upcoming season, we’re adding six new brands, which will be great. We’ve got new brands like De Bonne Facture, Altea, and a few others that we’re just so excited to have in store.

Cueva is located at 86 Christopher St., are on instagram https://www.instagram.com/cueva_shop/?hl=en, and their website is https://cuevashop.com/