PresentedBy Is Ready To Take Dubai By Storm

The sneaker and streetwear reselling concept store founded in London will soon make its debut within Level Shoes, at Dubai Mall.

It wasn’t until the a few years ago that streetwear and sneakerhead culture began infiltrating mainstream culture and, subsequently, the fashion industry. In the past, any self-respecting fashionista wouldn’t be caught dead wearing a pair of trainers, while being seated front row at a fashion show.

Now, the trainers are becoming the main event on the runway, as luxury fashion brands team up with the biggest names in streetwear. Think Supreme x Louis Vuitton Collection, Dior x Air Jordan 1 and Virgil Abloh x Nike “The Ten,” only to name a few. Collaborations are clearly the new it-bags, as fans of both brands sign up to waitlists thousands of names deep and queue up for hours just to get their hands on a pair of trainers – if they’re lucky.

Enter Presentedby: a sneaker reseller concept that aims to provide a premium reselling and consignment experience to those enamoured with scoring some of the most exclusive streetwear items long after a drop has occurred.

Launching in early December, at Level Shoes in Dubai Mall, the London-founded sneaker reselling concept is ready to take the market by storm, providing both old and new fans of the brand with a unique experience within one of the most luxurious footwear and accessories department store within the region.Here, Bazaar speaks with co-founders Nohman Ahmed and Ridwane Ahmed about how the concept was founded, the partnership with Level Shoes, and how the brand is providing a fresh, upscale experience to sneakerheads, both near and far, when it arrives in the region next month.

Harper’s Bazaar Arabia (HBA) How did you get into the sneaker reselling and trading industry?

Nohman Ahmed (NA):  We are part of a group called Undercover Brothers right; the group is owned by myself and my two brothers, Imran and Riz, and we own and operate a brand called Crep Protect, one of the world’s largest premium sneaker cleaning brands out there at the moment; our focus was to rejuvenate an industry which is becoming more and more commercial (today, you walk into an Emirates Lounge and it’s not all about formal wear, suits and shoes — everyone is wearing chinos and sneakers.)

Being sneakerheads ourselves, we decided to open up a sneaker consignment store, but with a very luxury focus to it – and that’s where Ridwane came on board. He heads up the PresentedBy brand globally (and he also happens to be my brother in law.)

Ridwane Ahmed (RE): As we were growing up, we always had a passion for footwear. I remember being back at school and a very, very long time ago, you’d have the adidas Gazelles and everyone would strive to get a pair so they could look good on the playground; your popularity was pretty much determined by what shoes you wore, how funny you were, or how good you were at football.

From a young age, we always gravitated towards sneakers and the style, and the entire culture and community that was associated with it. As we grew up, our parents were kind of driving us towards more conventional jobs, office-based jobs. We did that for a long time and then the opportunity came along where did a 360 and decided to focus on our passion, which was footwear and trainers. When we started working on PresentedBy – we knew the concept wasn’t new; we knew it had been around for many years in the US, but we wanted to add a polish to the whole consignment environment, you would see many stores in the US where you’ve literally just got volumes and volumes of footwear, and there was no experiential experience within the store.

We thought, “Well, let’s try to create an environment that’s somewhat polished, that has an element of discovery and history and in theatre about it.” This is how the store in Percy Street in London came around.

We put a lot of thought into how we wanted the layout [of the shop]. We didn’t just want people to walk in to the store, pick the best trainers and sell out of retail. We wanted to create an experience where you would have a “stock exchange” where prices are going up and down; where you would have an element of engagement where you can possibly win a pair of shoes, where you could possibly have your trainers or sneakers cleaned, and polished and rejuvenated to how they were when you originally bought them.

Since we opened up the way that the community and consumers embrace the concept that it was overwhelming, and we’ve just gone from strength to strength there. It’s apparent we aren’t the only ones that are enthusiastic and compassionate about footwear and sneakers. What we’ve tried to do is replicate that in the different regions, because we realized that it wasn’t just us; it wasn’t just the UK or the US that had a passion for the resell market or sneakers. First, we went to Paris and, now, to Dubai and we simply we simply can’t get enough stock to be able to feed our consumers.

What what we rely on is often signees – and that literally brings the community in, enables everybody to be stakeholder in the business. Traditionally, people would resell online or people would go to hotel rooms to sell there. Now they’re able to come to our store, they’re able to consign the items. We negotiate a price with them and then offer them to the customers. We’re constantly being inundated with the most recent and limited-edition shoes from a variety of consigners across Europe and around the world.

HBA: How did the partnership with Level Shoes happen?

NA: We’ve worked with Level Shoes before, from a shoe care perspective, and have always had a longstanding relationship with them

They’re the pinnacle of luxury and truly represented of the actual attitude of the consumer. It was like a perfect fit for us when it came to extending our footprint for a PresentedBy model in the Middle East. It only made sense for us…what we look for in terms of a partner that understands luxury. Obviously with Level Shoes its primary focus is footwear; they’re the first department store to be focused on footwear was quite unique for us… it was really a match made in heaven

RE: And I think also lots of things to do with the way that we’ve positioned ourselves with the luxury consumer. I mean, the whole entire DNA PresentedBy literally represents the refined regeneration of the sneakers and streetwear community. Now, with Level Shoes, they literally representing luxury footwear… for us [partnering] with them was a no brainer.

HBA: How did sneakerhead culture sort of carve out its own very well respected place within the luxury fashion industry?

RE: For me, the most noticeable change or shift is when Supreme collaborated with Louis Vuitton for their collection; that was literally was the turning point… a skateboard brand based in New York, with one of the most luxurious labels – that is when I noticed a huge shift.  It’s from the results of that particular collaboration [that we saw] specific consumers, who may have been on the fence about streetwear [in the past], eventually embrace it. That would enhance them and capitalise collaborations that you’ve seen over the years such as Louis Vuitton and Nigo, recently, and adidas and Prada.

The athletic brands or the designer brands have recognised a shift; they’ve set the foundation of collaborations with traditional streetwear brands. I think that was driven by consumer demand too.

NA: Around luxury fashion and street wear, there were many sceptics. Many that wanted to do it, but no one was ballsy enough to actually make the leap. With a superpower like Louis Vuitton to collaborate with Supreme, it almost gave permission for everyone to follow suit.

I think that the trend was slowly going down, even prior to that collaboration, because when you looked at the display windows, Gucci items and even Louis Vuitton weren’t traditional formal wear; it was all about backpacks and sneakers.

Essentially, the consumer drove that shift because of the demand. As things became more commercially aware… it was a brilliant move for luxury fashion to step in and it obviously expanded. Presented By has allowed us to take a spotlight and be in places like La Bon Marche in Paris, and Level Shoes, where we’re still bridging the gap between luxury and streetwear.

HBA: Can you share a little bit of insight into what we can expect from the PresentedBy boutique within Level Shoes?

NSA: There will be a multitude of features in the store, we don’t want to reveal too much, obviously. It’s going to be. . . heavily projection mapped. The look and feel of the store can be changed with high tech projectors; you’re talking about experiential sneaker room, which will have the relevant sneakers all over the world, which will be displayed more like a gallery. So, these are shoes which are one-offs or two offs, so it’s really rare.

You’re also talking about a sneaker arcade machine to win sneakers, and you’re talking a projection with smoke. And I’m not going to say too much about that subject because that really needs to be a grand reveal.

But in Dubai, in particular – because of the glitz and glamour of the region – it really deserved a flagship location with in stringent tech involved.

RE: What we wanted to do was really have a focal point, and a representation for sneakers and streetwear within the region with Level Shoes. Like the mindset, the experiential mood: it’s more about a museum… about the appreciation for art. The appreciation for limited edition items. . . craftsmanship, and tailoring that went into some of these [shoes; they are they are one-off pieces.

For more information visit levelshoes.com.

Images supplied.