ARC Sports

Profile

This venue is closed.

This ALife spinoff—the brand’s third location on the Lower East Side—offers upscale streetwear and collectible sneakers. Short for Alife Rivington Club, A.R.C. is outfitted with a streamlined gray interior and orderly, closetlike shelves. Flashy co-branded sneakers accent the crosshatched front walls: Notoriously unhip New Balances are outfitted with green suede, all-white Air Force Ones model subtle stars, and simple Adidas shoes are painted bright red. The kicks are sold in limited quantities, and sneakerheads camp out along the block for days to snag new releases. A.R.C also collaborates with clothing brands, blowing up Lacoste’s iconic alligator logo on polos and creating preppy, popped-collar rugby shirts with Canterbury. The co-branded gear shares racks with the original sportswear and accessories hand-picked by the cool-hunting staff, including gray sweatshirts from Fred Perry, New Era caps, varsity jackets, Patagonia backpacks, and Comme des Garçons PLAY T-shirts. True collectors can scope out seriously rare finds, like a $1,200 throwback Michael Jordan jersey. Though the concept is secondary to the garb, A.R.C. Sports also doubles as an athletic store, producing its own line of golf and tennis balls. — Mike Vilensky