## Twos: Where London’s Fashion Elite Find Their Hidden Gems
In the bustling streets of East London, where hidden treasures are often found in the most unassuming of places, lies a secret haven for fashion lovers: Twos. This cult vintage dealer has become a pilgrimage site for those in the know, offering a curated selection of rare and coveted pieces that are anything but ordinary.
Twos’ original location, a nondescript gallery space on Hackney Road, belies its true nature. Stepping inside, you’ll find a curated collection of fashion treasures: a pleated Comme des Garçons skirt in a weighty grey knit, a super-cropped Jean Paul Gaultier bomber from 1989, and a vibrant green jersey sweater by Hysteric Glamour. It’s a space where fashion enthusiasts can browse and discover unique pieces that tell a story.
Twos’ second location, tucked away on the seventh floor of an industrial block just off Broadway Market, is an even more exclusive affair. This airy space, housing Deliveroo ghost kitchens and designers’ studios, feels like an if-you-know-you-know Aladdin’s Cave. Reaching it requires a bit of effort, but the rewards are well worth it. Here, you’ll find an expanded selection of impeccably curated vintage alongside an array of works by some of London’s most exciting independent designers.
This burgeoning fashion haven has its roots in a humble bedroom. Josh Cook, the owner and founder of Twos, started his journey six years ago, fueled by a passion for fashion and a desire to create something unique. “It started about six years ago as a weekend thing in my bedroom,” says Cook, who at the time was working at a London-based fashion showroom and sales agency representing Auralee, the Japanese purveyor of understatedly chic garments. “I’d just gotten my first salary and wanted to do something with the money. I’d always been sending my friends links for pieces to buy, so after about six months of collecting stuff at home, I decided to turn my room into a little retail space, and have friends come over and try stuff on over drinks and food.”
Word of mouth, not intentional publicity, propelled Twos into the spotlight. “There was zero publicity behind it – it was just my friends initially, and then they’d bring theirs, who’d bring theirs…” Cook recalls. “It started very slowly. I was working full-time, so I wasn’t doing it for the money. My target margin was about a pint of Guinness on each piece.”
The pandemic led to a brief, informal summer residency in a local park, where Twos operated under the guise of a birthday party. “We pretended it was a birthday party so that no one would think we were selling stuff,” Cook chuckles. This was followed by a move to a studio space in Seven Sisters, where the community surrounding Twos continued to grow. “There was a really great Colombian restaurant close by, so we’d eat empanadas, drink beer and just hang out,” Cook beams. “More and more people kept coming.”
What drew them in was Twos’s unique blend of high-end and low-key fashion. The curation, spanning everything from rare knits by Comme des Garçons’s umbrella label Tao to Swedish army jumpers, reveals a discerning eye for detail and an understanding of what makes a piece truly special. “I’m quite wardrobe focused. I’m much more about dressing, rather than an archivist or a collector in that way. The things that guide my buying are things like construction details, fabric quality and fit,” says Cook. “I always want to have the most special version of a piece that I want.”
Twos’s cult appeal is further enhanced by its air of mystery. There’s no online shop, and minimal social media promotion. “It’s always changing – we try to price things so there’s a real sense of range. It keeps things moving, and it means that if you want to know what’s here, you have to come by!” Cook explains.
In September 2022, Cook took the leap and committed to Twos full-time, opening the first permanent location on Hackney Road. The store quickly blossomed, expanding from a weekend-only pop-up to a five-days-a-week operation. Earlier this year, Twos opened its larger Broadway Market outlet, a move that allowed Cook to pursue a long-standing dream: branching out into multi-brand retail. Now, alongside its curated vintage selection, Twos showcases the works of independent designers, starting with London-based knitwear designer Cecile Tulkens.
“Over the next year, we’ll be bringing on four to six brands,” Cook shares. “They’re brands making beautifully made clothes that I adore, really believe in and want to invest in – particularly in such a challenging environment for designers.”
The new space also allows Cook to amplify Twos’s community-minded ethos. Its off-kilter location plays a vital role in creating a space where customers can escape the everyday and connect. “Even the journey to finding the store takes you out of yourself – it’s not super easy to just pop in. I think I was trying to get back to what the original iterations of Twos had been, which was somewhere people would stay for a long time,” Cook says, drawing inspiration from his time in Japan. “It was the first time I’d seen shopping as a third space. You would go to a shop that was in an office block, or down a long corridor with a tiny door, and you’d end up spending two or three hours meeting other people who’d made the effort to find it, or just chatting with the owner.”
Cook’s vision has come to fruition. At either of Twos’s locations, you’ll find a vibrant mix of people: off-duty models, art students, musicians, and more, united by a shared love for fashion. “My aim is always to make an atmosphere in which people can slow down a little bit, feel a certain feeling and start to involve themselves beyond the commerce of it all – to feel like they’re part of a scene,” Cook says. “We actually get a lot of moments in the shop where people will start talking to someone else who’s there, and then they’re striking up a whole vibe.”
Twos has become more than just a shop; it’s a community hub where people can connect, discover, and express themselves through fashion. With plans for food, drinks, fashion shows, and even Twos speed dating, Cook envisions Twos evolving into a vibrant, inclusive space for fashion lovers. “With this new space, we’ll be having lots of fun. Food, drinks, fashion shows… I want it to become a bit more like a youth club. A fashion youth club, if you will.”
Twos is not just about selling clothes; it’s about creating a space where fashion transcends commerce and becomes a way of life, a place where creativity and community thrive.
