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The motto at this skate-shoe and streetwear outlet popular with tourists, “Nothing touches the ground but the customer,” explains the Soho store’s gravity-defying look. The shop has a spaceship-like design, with cables dangling from the ceiling supporting nearly everything in the store: the white-plastic shelves, seats (for trying on shoes), and even the cash register itself are all suspended over a faux-asphalt floor. The brand’s lively, creatively patterned kicks hang on needlelike silver arms set off a few inches from the mirrored east wall of the showroom. There are no boards for sale here—though there’s a full-service skate shop at the nearby outlet of Quicksilver, DC’s parent company—and apart from the sneakers and the surfer-dude sales staff, not much in stock is board-sport-specific. Bathing suits, jumpers, dresses, handbags, and backpacks fill the suspended racks and shelves; classic, solid-colored hoodies mingle with track jackets, printed tees, and six shelves of logoed baseball caps. — Alexander Littlefield