Sherri McMullen Picks Winners

OAKLAND, United States — Long-standing concept store aficionados will know the names — Dover Street Market, Ikram, The Webster, Kirna Zabete, Colette, 10 Corso Como, Jeffrey, and many more which have come and gone or still remain in quiet dosages. Very few can surpass the track record of launching emerging designers onto a wider platform than Sherri McMullen of her self-titled store nestled in Oakland.

Rachel Scott, Sherri McMullen, and Ayesha Curry / @shopmcmullen

Launched in 2007 after her career rising the ranks as an executive buyer, McMullen stepped out on her own to bring a vibrant, artistic, and purpose-driven fashion assortment to an often under-looked corner of northern California and its surrounding areas. Over fifteen years in the making, McMullen has achieved some pretty impressive milestones, most notably being one of the early merchants for independent diaspora brands gaining prominence on a national, if not global scale.

With a unique knack for buying deep into emerging designers, McMullen ensures her coterie of high-flying clientele (including jewelry designer Lauren Harwell Godfrey and beauty entrepreneur Ayesha Curry amongst others) can score best dressed accolades wearing cutting-edge brands before they’ve even gained mainstream appeal. Lest we forget, she was one of the first to bring Nigerian brands, including Maki Oh and Lisa Folawiyo, to the US market in the early 2010s. Take a look at her track record below.

CHRISTOPHER JOHN ROGERS (2020 CFDA Winner, 2021 LVMH Prize Finalist)

We’ve written about Christopher John Rogers’ milieu of “accessible glamour,” including his uber successful collaboration with Target in 2021, and can attest that Rogers has seen considerable peaks to peaks since launching in 2016 — although the covetable creative director position at a major luxury brand may presently elude him. McMullen was an early buyer of the brand and critically invested in dozens of SKUs over the years, helping to convey a fuller story of the brand beyond the hero pieces.

DIOTIMA (2023 CFDA Winner, 2023 LVMH Prize Finalist)

McMullen recently brought together Rachel Scott of Diotima for a private trunk show and dinner with fifty top clients and special guests to celebrate her inspiring journey as a fashion designer since launching her brand in 2021. In Scott’s words, “the way Sherri supports independent, emerging brands is unlike any other; she doesn’t take it on consignment, she buys it. When she invests, she invests and if it wasn’t for her investment in me, I wouldn’t be here today.” Pretty powerful words to encapsulate the approach McMullen has taken in maintaining her relationships with ascending talent for over a decade.

Picking winners in this business (prone to fast flames and copy cat mentalities) is no easy feat and McMullen is one to beat with a glowing winning strategy.

Lead Image Courtesy of McMullen.