Hipster Loved Clothing Store Brings its Wave-Making Ways to Deep Ellum

Deep Ellum, long an anti-establishment neighborhood filled with hipsters that eschew chain and big-box culture, is getting a new resident. Patagonia is coming to Dallas.

Yes, the clothing and outdoor gear company, which has appeal amongst both the granola and Goyard sets, is opening its second store in Texas. Currently, there is only Texas Patagonia store in Austin, which many might say is just the much larger version of Deep Ellum.

Patagonia’s visionary founder Yvon Chouinard, now 81 years old, would definitely attract a crowd of millennial hipsters in Deep Ellum should he come for the opening or just to have a drink at a neighborhood bar. Perhaps because he was once one of them.

Chouinard seems likely inspiration for many a Wes Anderson character given he was the founder of the Southern California Falconry Club and was a rock star of the rock climbing world. He also speaks the language of many a millennial given his views on sustainable fashion.

That notion has gained fast traction over the past few years and this awards season Joaquin Phoenix, who garnered rave reviews for his take on The Joker will be wearing the same tuxedo, one designed by fellow animal rights and environmental activist Stella McCartney, to every ceremony.

A visit to Patagonia’s website makes it apparent that the brand believes strongly in its commitment to the environment. The site seems equally geared to sell clothing and promote Patagonia’s mantra that “without commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, defend clean water and air and divest from dirty technologies, humankind as a whole will destroy our planet’s ability to repair itself.

“At Patagonia, the protection and preservation of the environment isn’t what we do after hours. It’s the reason we’re in business and every day’s work.”

Chouinard and Patagonia are so outspoken that they have even taken the government to task and joined a lawsuit against the White House. When the company changed its home page to proclaim “The President Stole Your Land,” in the wake of Donald Trump’s decisions to reduce the size of protected land in the United States, a fight ensued.

In response, the Republican-led House Committee on Natural Resources sent out a mass email with the subject line, “Patagonia: don’t buy it,” before the 2017 holiday shopping season.

Scheduled to open in March not much else is known about the new Patagonia store in Dallas, except it will be moving into the space on 2626 Main Street that once house Matt McCallister’s restaurant, Filament. (Coincidentally, last year the original On the Border restaurant on Knox Street was transformed into an outpost of Yeti, the Austin-based outdoors outfit.)

Will this mean that other larger national brands that have a more outspoken commitment to environmental and social causes will be welcomed with open arms in Deep Ellum? Only time — and perhaps the results of the 2020 election — will tell.

No matter what, we are always excited to see when retailers enter the conversation on hot button topics.