Deciem’s First Midwestern Shop Coming To Wicker Park Storefront
The hot Canadian skincare brand is replacing a Free People warehouse.
WICKER PARK — Toronto-based skincare brand Deciem has signed a lease for a corner storefront at the northeast corner of Wood Street and Milwaukee Avenue in Wicker Park.
On Tuesday, a Deciem spokeswoman confirmed the entry and said the new outpost at 1401 N. Milwaukee Ave. aims to open by September. It’ll be Deciem’s first Midwest shop and its sixth in the U. S., following four New York City locations and one in Miami.
The 1,920 square-foot storefront was most recently rented as wholesale showroom for Free People and long before that, it was home to the Imperial Men’s Clothing shop, which closed in 2008.
Deciem’s founder Brandon Truaxe started the company in 2013. Deciem offers more than 50 products and operates retail storefronts in Canada, Australia, England, Mexico and South Korea.
Deciem makes and sells The Ordinary, a range of skincare treatments centered around retinol, glycolic acid, and vitamin C, as well as a line of serums, NIOD (Non-Ivasive Options in Dermal Science). Kim Kardashian swears by it.
A serum named Elan is described on Deciem’s website as combining vitamin C with selenium and zinc “to support a strong fight against oxidation while enhancing barrier function, balancing visible discolouration, reviving skin tone, and supporting collagen production and repair mechanisms.”
The three-story building that Deciem will soon anchor was built in the 1880s, and the storefronts facing Milwaukee Avenue were built in 1926, according to the city’s Department of Planning and Development, which lists the building as “contributing” to the Milwaukee Avenue Landmark District.
The upper levels of the building have been boarded up for several years. In 1977 five adults and four children were killed in a fire that started in an apartment above the storefront.
The building’s owner, Jamie Stiebel, says that the upper floors of the building will continue to remain boarded up and only the lower-level shop has been rented by Deciem.
