the map village street editors

The magic of stumbling across something unexpected in a backstreet – a cool bar or clandestine restaurant called to your attention only by a small sign, sticker or symbol – is an experience mostly associated with cities like Melbourne and Sydney. But on a sidestreet of Fortitude Valley usually reserved for shortcuts, lost tourists, and drunken stumbles, sits fashion boutique, The Outpost. While those who pass a casual glance down the little street often overlook its modest facade, this little locale has found its niche at the centre of Brisbane’s creative community. Anyone who stumbles across the unassuming boutique will no doubt find one of its creators, Matt Brady, behind the counter – and he’s sure to greet you with a grin.

A small flag emblazoned with a skull and cross bones flutters in the thick, warm breeze that Brisbane knows all too well. In history, such a flag signified danger. In childhood, it was a sign of the infinite bounds of a fertile imagination and the hours upon hours of swashbuckling games it could inspire. Today, it represents something entirely different, but equally as exciting – a growing community of pop cultural collaboration, where unique ideas, supportive relationships and a penchant for thinking outside mainstream convention are encouraged, if not required.

You see, the unassuming door above which this symbolic ensign flies is that of The Outpost, an avant-garde fashion boutique that, while small in stature, is at the centre of Brisbane’s blossoming creative community. At the helm of this quirky locale is Matt Brady, who, alongside partner Thea Basilou (also owner of pioneering fashion institution, Blonde Venus, located just around the corner) has guided The Outpost to become a destination of interstate and international repute.

Known for his affability and enthusiastic greetings to everyone who enters the store, it’s clear that Matt’s intuitive people skills (gained from many years spent in the hospitality industry) are undoubtedly the key to his success. Well, that, and his partnership with Thea, who, he is quick to point out, is really the driving force behind both The Outpost and Blonde Venus.

“Someone’s got to be the boss,” he laughs cheekily. “On the fashion side, in Blonde Venus, it’s all Thea and that’s because she just gets in and does it. She’s sacrificed a lot of things and done the hard yards. There have been a lot of her friends who have gone overseas and lived and worked in the industry there and she’s stuck to what she’s done,” he affirms with pride. Matt joined Thea at Blonde Venus in 2002, mostly out of a sheer frustration that he hardly ever got to see her. “At night I’d be coming home from work and Thea would still be in the shop doing things at 11 o’clock at night,” he recalls. “So I decided the only way I could get her to come home was to help her on my days off. Eventually, I was helping her so much that I ended up working for her.”

Together, the duo opened a second Blonde Venus store in West End, before being enticed by the historic, slightly rudimentary charm of the intimate space in which The Outpost now resides. “Thea and I have like-minded taste and it’s quite diverse,” Matt explains. “We decided to open something that would cater for our taste and vision and The Outpost was built as an outlet for that. So some things that might not traditionally fit in a fashion house like Blonde Venus can be displayed here.”

Indeed, the rainbow of garments and objects that grace The Outpost’s racks could be described as anything but mainstream. Covering virtually the entire pop-culture spectrum, the locale stocks everything from obscure zines, handmade jewellery, graphic-laden t-shirts, quirky Japanese toys, bespoke jeans and limited-edition prints. But while there may not appear to be any rhyme or reason behind the eclectic collection, there is one common factor: it must be unique.

“I’m inspired by intelligent pop culture and the quirkiness of it,” Matt reflects. “It’s all about the execution. We carry things we like and that’s about it. People ask how we source things, but it’s not a formula.”

While Matt may not see anything particularly remarkable about what he is doing with The Outpost, the rest of the world certainly can. Both Blonde Venus and The Outpost are known for stocking fashion labels long before they enter the mainstream psyche, demonstrating an acute eye for recognising talent and originality in its nascent stages. And to maintain this reputation for as long as they have, Thea and Matt have had to be scrupulous in their decision-making – relinquishing labels as soon as they show signs of becoming too saturated within the market and avoiding concepts and trends that are simply re-worked versions of something that occurred a few seasons ago. This knack for seeing beauty in the unorthodox and discovering the sartorial stars of the future, Matt acknowledges, all comes down to gut instinct.

“It’s not always about making money, we just do what we do. Sometimes we take risks and do things a different way because want to and that’s the way it is. There are some things that we get in that might not sell, but we appreciate it for what it is. It might not be financially rewarding but it’s rewarding in the fact that you might be supporting someone.”

When asked what inspires him, Matt lists countless influences from music, to art, graphic design and photography, but then admits that, really, it comes down to people. “I like being around happy, motivated people,” he says. “I admire people who offer something unique.”

And it was the unique and somewhat clandestine nature of The Outpost that first attracted he and Thea to the site. “That’s part of the appeal of the location,” he continues. “It’s sort of lost sometimes in Brisbane, that culture of stumbling across something. For me, with the shop, it’s really nice to have something that’s a part of Fortitude Valley’s history. The floor is the original from when other shops were here years ago and the walls are still 1920s brick,” he explains, clearly enthralled by the charming piece of history that he is proud to occupy.

“My dream for The Outpost is that it will be a part of a small community of shops in the style that used to be in the Valley,” Matt muses, eyes shining at the thought. “To have people who are different, but on the same wavelength, in the same area.”
Fostering this sense of creative community is one of Matt’s greatest passions, and one he has pursued with vigour over the past few years. “The thing about Brisbane is that, to achieve your goals, there is a support network,” he observes. “It could be a band sharing equipment with other bands, even though they might be different styles of music, or artists from different genres who want to put on a show together to support each other. If you’re in a big city like Melbourne, you might just do something with the people from St Kilda because you live in St Kilda, whereas, in Brisbane, you do a Brisbane thing.”

One of Matt’s greatest ongoing achievements is the I Used to Skate Once skateboard exhibition, which began a few years ago as a small show at Ric’s with “a combination of friends, customers, a few artists that we liked and people we deal with in the graphic design and clothing industries”.

Last year, the third installment of the exhibition manifested as a huge event that combined art and live music, packing out The Zoo for an evening. Matt professes that part of the appeal of such projects is that he gets to combine his knack for marketing, graphic and web design, but most of all, it’s about the pleasure he gets from being part of a creative collaboration and fostering those relationships within the community. And his and Thea’s reputation for bringing different industries together to achieve a kind of creative synergy, is growing.

“I think relationships are the key to our success,” he says, pausing thoughtfully. “People don’t necessarily have to like what I like, but they can appreciate it. We’re doing what we love, and that’s a nice place to be if you find it, but we’re just part of the equation. We’re not reinventing the wheel, we’re just presenting it in a different way. If The Outpost inspires some kids to go out and open a store and do their own thing, then cool.” And the one piece of advice he’d pass on to these kids? “Always trust your instinct.”

Interview by Mikki Brammer