When Naomi Gunther posted her thesis collection online after graduating from Parsons School of Design in New York, she had no followers, no brand and no plan. But when a stylist for rapper Offset reached out to borrow a few pieces for Paris Fashion Week, everything changed.

Offset wore her designs alongside major brands including Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton, and just a few hashtags later later she had an inbox full of inquiries from stylists, buyers, press and potential clients.

It’s the kind of brand origin story that reads like fashion fantasy for any young designer.

Gunther was quickly off to a running start, but it was early 2020 and just before pandemic shutdowns. During a time when big brands struggled with supply chains and unsold inventory, Gunther leaned into an on-demand, locally sourced and -made model.

“We didn’t have a problem of having a lot of stock, because we were buying the fabrics and producing on demand, meeting clients one-on-one,” she said. “And this actually became our strength.”

The circumstances also offered the young designer insight into her customer — often athletes who were attracted to her oversize streetwear simply because of fit issues, but who wanted the opportunity to experiment with more tailored looks and pieces.

Originally intending to take a unisex design class at Parsons, Gunther ended up in menswear by accident, but it turned out to be the right fit. “I had a coup de cœur,” she said. “Men’s fashion in New York was really exciting at that time — streetwear brands like Off-White mixed with a pearl necklace. It made me realize, ‘There’s something inspiring happening in menswear right now.’”

Now Gunther is opening her first boutique in the heart of Le Marais. Opening Wednesday, the 450-square-foot retail space at 10 Rue de Picardie sits above her office and an atelier of equal size.

Home to her business and brand, she has dubbed it “The Apartment” and fashioned it as a cozy, friendly space filled with handpicked vintage pieces sourced from L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, a village outside of Avignon known for its antique stores. Gunther worked without an interior designer to make the space her own, selecting sofas from a 1950s luxury cruise liner, a 19th-century coat rack, as well as a solid wood cashier’s desk from the same era.

“I’m kind of nostalgic for the 1920s or ’60s, when men used to dress really well,” she said. “So I really want to modernize this vintage furniture. It’s a good mix of inspiration from the past and the present.”

Downstairs seamstresses are ready to take measurements, make alterations or even create an entire garment.

“I want people to come in, try something on, and say, ‘Can I change this detail?’ and the answer is yes. Is there something from the website that is not in stock? We’ll produce it here,” she said. “I don’t want people to walk away saying, ‘Nothing fits me, I’ll just buy a cap.’ That’s not the experience I want to create.”

A custom suit can be created in about 10 days in-house, and Gunther uses a workshop in the Paris suburbs for bigger production runs of 50 to 60 pieces. Jersey pieces are produced in Portugal.

“We try to keep a ‘Made in France’ approach to our products,” she said. The team sources fabrics locally and often works with deadstock from France, Italy, Japan and Korea.

Gunther recently launched a two-tiered collection strategy with Les Essentiels line, a permanent collection of core bestsellers in more accessible cuts and pricing, and will present a quarterly seasonal collection offering more fashion-forward limited-edition pieces that still allow for customization.

“Les Essentiels is for the customer who wants to buy something but maybe they are not sure how to approach the brand, or maybe it’s too strong in terms of styling,” she said. “This is more easy to approach. It’s basically everything you need — like the perfect denim jacket.”

The price range of Les Essentiels includes accessories starting at 70 euros up to jackets priced at 370 euros at the high end.

Meanwhile, the seasonal collections will keep the Gunther edge. “We can really develop our fashion line with having a bit more fun,” she said.

In the store, the seasonal collection is presented against vintage floral wallpaper, while the more modern bold blue wall opposite frames Les Essentiels, including a range of denim.

The physical store strategy is not only a way to keep close to customers, but also a move to build a stronger, independent business.

Despite early interest from retailers, Gunther’s relationship with the wholesale market has been complicated. While Korea has emerged as a strong market for the young brand — thanks to a French Embassy promotional partnership and successful pop-ups in Seoul — European buyers have proven to be more wary in a tough economic environment.

“It’s always like a structure problem, ‘We don’t have enough budget, it’s not the right season, it’s great but we don’t have a space for new brands, we only buy the key brands,’” she said of Western buyers reticence to, well, buy. “When we went to Asia we found that it was more daring.”

It was also frustrating to work for seasons to build a good relationship with a buyer, only to see staff changes the next season.

“I realized I’d rather build a relationship with the customer than depend on a buyer who might leave their job next season,” she said.

Gunther will continue to have a presence in Printemps New York, as well as the Galleria department store and MUE concept store, both in Seoul. But other than that, she will double down on a direct-to-consumer strategy, and make that the brand’s main focus going forward.

Gunther said she has noticed a growing female clientele, especially in Korea where the women like looser silhouettes, but she has no plans to move into designing womenswear directly. “I’m hoping to have more women that want the Gunther style, but it’s because the core of the clothes is menswear that is interesting,” she said. Women clients can have any piece altered to their frame.

As she looks ahead, Gunther’s ambitions extend beyond fashion and turn “The Apartment” into an event space for DJ sets, talks and exhibitions to build community.

“The fashion world, it has been really serious with all the fashion week calendars and VIPs. I was afraid to get lost in that world and then you forget your customer,” she said. “In the end the customer doesn’t really care if you are on the fashion week calendar or not, he really wants to know, ‘How many times can I wear this jacket in a week?’ ‘Is my coat going to look good in two seasons?’ I’m hoping that I can be closer to the clients and just have make them have fun.”

First order of business is a party at the freshly opened store for Fête de la Musique on Saturday.