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Though it opened its doors in April, the only thing the New Orleans boutique Exodus Goods
has done to announce its existence until now is hang a colorful wooden
sign outside its French Quarter storefront. The sisters Darlene and
Lizzy Okpo, along with the co-owner Armina Mussa, have deliberately
managed to keep word of their project confined mostly to their cult
Instagram following — despite the fact that the store’s fourth partner
and creative director is Solange Knowles. Chalk it up to being in New
Orleans, where “the pace of life is slower,” Lizzy Okpo explains. “We’ve
developed a feeling of building things organically until they’re
right.” Now, however, with the launch this week of Exodus Goods’ new
e-commerce site, the secret is out.
The Okpo sisters arrived in the South after spending eight years in New York designing their women’s wear line, William Okpo.
“With Exodus Goods, we are in complete control and we wiped out the
whole fashion ideal of trying to keep up with the Joneses,” Lizzy Okpo
says.
The store carries a colorful array of clothing, accessories and lifestyle goods
from such independent labels as Ace & Jig, Brother Vellies and the sisters’ own line. (Puma’s “Girls of Blaze”
sneaker collaboration with Knowles sold out in less than a week.) Also
in stock are a host of products made by the foursome’s friends and
neighbors in New Orleans, such as Dvra’s papaya-print clutches and Smoke’s
natural scented candles. “It’s about us,” Lizzy Okpo says of the
partners’ approach to buying. “It’s not about who’s been all over
Women’s Wear Daily. We get a beautiful outcome because it’s organic.”
518 Conti Street, New Orleans, La., exodusgoods.us.
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T Magazine
