The Shophound

YOUR WEEKEND PLANS? You Will Be Waiting In A Long Line To Get Into The Comme des Garçons New York Market Market 2

There are tons of sample sales around town right now, but the big shopping event this weekend is the Comme des Garçons New York Market Market 2 (its official title). This every-now-and-then archive sale started today, and even by midday, the line stretched nearly to the end of a long crosstown block on West 30th Street. In fairness, it looked like it was moving, but this was just the sidewalk line, and it appeared to snake around even more once you were inside the building. Clearly, this is a worthwhile time investment if you are a big Comme fan since this sale appears to be a biennial event at best. The last one was in 2011. It looks like there will be no point at which one will be able to casually drop into this sale (maybe on Monday, the last day, but don't hold your breath)

No, The Shophound did not go inside. While we admire designer Rei Kawakubo immensely, we have discovered that the cut of even her most conservative men's clothes are profoundly unflattering on us, and we do not wish to resemble a box with legs regardless of her unimpeachable artistic intentions. However, there is certainly no shortage of people who are willing to wait in line to get inside, and for them and you, our friends at Racked have a breathless preview report that essentially says the sale is everything you could have hoped for and more. Apparently, every Comme des Garçons produced collection from several past seasons is included at 70% off retail except for the BLACK line which is 50% off. Make of all this what you will, but be warned that it's supposed to rain tomorrow, so best of luck to all Comme shoppers.

Before the Fray: The Comme des Garçons Archival Sale Will Blow Your Mind (Racked)
Comme des Garçons New York Market Market 2 through Monday, May 13th 127 W. 30th St between Sixth and Seventh Aves, Midtown

MORE RETAIL RENEWAL: Here's A Look At What Herald Center Will Look Like Next Year

More information has been revealed about the dramatic makeover in store for the currently forbidding Herald Center mall at 34th Street and Sixth Avenue. The Observer has released a rendering of the building's new look from architectural firm Moed de Armas & Shannon, who have been responsible for 120 West 42nd Street and the retail expansion at the General Motors Building. As expected, the janky dark glass covering the building will be entirely removed. Sadly, nothing remains of the original, ornate façade that existed when the building was a somewhat humbler, pre-Fifth Avenue Saks (until the early 1960s, there were both a Saks Fifth Avenue and a Saks Herald Square operating in Manhattan). The building's new configuration will include brighter, clear glass covering on the three bottom stories designed to attract more upscale retailers. The upper façade will apparently be a more opaque mosaic patten, and brightly lit electronic signs also appear to be part of the scheme, although, outside of Times Square, the extent of such animated signage has a lot to do with zoning rules. While almost nothing ever winds up looking as pristine and sparkling as the renderings that precede them, if the final result looks even half as good as the picture it will be a vast improvement for the Herald Square neighborhood. It looks like current owner JEMB Realty's goal of getting Topshop or a similar type retailer as a tenant is not so farfetched after all.

Moed de Armas & Shannon To Head Herald Center Renovation (The Observer via Racked)
Previously:
Retail Renewal: Herald Center Set For An Upscale Makeover

RETAIL RENEWAL: Herald Center Set For An Upscale Makeover

The big, dated slab of chrome and smoked glass at the corner of 34th Street and Seventh Avenue known as Herald Center is getting a long overdue renovation. WWD reports that plans are in the works to finally bring it up to date with its bustling surroundings. The luxury stores like Dunhill and Charles Jourdan that filled the mall when it was originally built in the early 1980s didn't hang around for long. After current owner JEMB Real Estate took control in 1989 from the Philippine's then president Ferdinand Marcos and his infamous wife Imelda, big box and discount stores including a 97,000 square foot Daffy's took root until that chain's demise last year. Meanwhile, upper floor space was leased by that glamorous, sought after tenant, The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. As the 34th Street corridor became an increasingly important destination for chain store flagships like Gap, Victoria's Secret and Forever 21, and fast-fashion newcomers like H&M and Zara, Herald Center remained stagnant, seedy and a little bit forbidding on what should have been one of the strip's most desirable locations. Manhattan Mall in the former Gimbel's building lured away more popular tenants, and even today Herald Center still lacks even the most minimal online presence.

But now, as Macy's across the street continues with a sleek and shiny makeover of its own, Herald Center is being reconfigured to create three floors of contiguous retail space and will have its exterior reclad to create a new, brighter look inside and out. When it will all be finished remains to be indicated, but the redesign is meant to attract more upscale fashion retailers as opposed the off-pricers that defined the mall for the past few decades. Unsurprisingly, Topshop is said to be at the top of the list of non-discounters that JEMB is hoping to sign, along with any other full-priced stores that have yet to find a home in the area.

Herald Center to Undergo Renovation (WWD)

AFTERMATH: Divided City

Yesterday, The Shophound took a stroll down Madison Avenue to Midtown just to get a sense of how the city's retailers were getting back up to speed. We were pleasantly surprised to see about 90% of the stores we passed open, even if it was just for limited hours. And they weren't just busy. they were bustling like it was a Holiday shopping day and not just a random Wednesday afternoon in the Fall. Clearly, there were lots of stranded tourists and New Yorkers unable to get to work who had some pent-up energy they were expending on shopping. That's great for the stores, who lost at least two full days of business due to the storm, (except for Barneys which, miraculously, was able to re-open on Tuesday afternoon). They need to recoup, and even Bergdorf Goodman (pictured above) happily opened its doors before its staff had time to remove the protective plywood from its windows. Reminders of the storm remained, most prominently the infamous One57 crane which kept its 57th Street block inaccessible and was conspicuously visible far down the gridlocked crosstown passage, but crowds weres storming the sidewalks.

Of course, downtown is a different story. Still without power, Chelsea, Union Square and below continue to be described as a ghost town. This city has always been able to delineate the difference between haves and have-nots in peculiarly vivid ways, but right now that distinction is not purely economic, aesthetic or social. It is simply, randomly,  geographical, for once. Hopefully, this won't last for more than a few days. When the power comes back on, everyone should head downtown to shop. Those stores will genuinely need as much support as they can get.

THIS WEEK'S CELEBRITY APPEARANCE: You Have A Half-Hour To Meet Novak Djokovic At UNIQLO Tomorrow

The dead of August is not usually the time for celebrity appearances at retailers, but U.S. Open begins on Monday, and UNIQLO is making the most of it's recently named Global Ambassador Novak Djokovic by having his visit the chain's Fifth Avenue flagship store tomorrow morning —but you had better be quick. The Wimbledon champion will only be available for a scant half-hour between 10 and 10:30 AM. If your timing is right, you will be able to win tickets to the U.S. Open, but keep your camera in your pocket. Digital photographs will be taken by a Uniqlo photographer only, and will be accessible via Facebook, so make that smile count, and expect it to be seen by millions.

Novak Djokovic at UNIQLO on August 22nd at 666 Fifth Avenue at 53rd Street from 10 to 10:30 AM, Midtown

NOW OPEN: Ted Baker's "Grand House" Hits Fifth Avenue

British label Ted Baker has been increasing its U.S. presence over the past couple of years, and yesterday it hit a milestone by opening a Ffith Avenue flagship that is its biggest store in the States so far. The northeast corner building at 48th Street and Fifth, right next to the historic Charles Scribner's Sons building that now contains a Sephora, has been transformed into Baker's "Grand House", a 1930's townhouse concept that like all of the company's boutiques, is unique to its own location. It has all the charm as well as the drawbacks of a townhouse style-store, and, through the weekend, visitors will be treated to tea and treats, as any proper guests should be.

Despite the label being known best as a men's brand, this store has been set up to push the Ted Baker women's collections to the throngs of people who make their ways up and down Fifth Avenue. Thus, the extensive men's collections have been relegated downstairs to a floor designed to evoke the kitchen one would typically find in a townhouse basement. There are pots and pans hidden amongst the displays as well as butler's bells and silver serveware. The two levels upstairs are devoted to women's collections with eclectic fixtures meant to evoke the 1930s or eras before. On the boudoir-styled top floor, a dressing area is created with a glamorous construction of velvet draperies in the front of the store rather than building it into the back as one might expect. The three levels are connected with a dramatic metal staircase with steps textured in an ersatz art deco pattern. Of course, this being a townhouse space, the entire store is long and narrow, which can create a cramped feeling, particularly when Fifth Avenue crowds descend. It certainly doesn't help that in their eagerness to greet new customers, the store's staff is practically blocking the entrance, but hopefully, these traffic pattern issues will be attended to once the store has been open for a little while.

There are, for The Shophound, always a couple of elephants in the room whenever we walk into a Ted Baker shop, and, for better or worse, they seem all the more pronounced here. For an upscale brand that enthusiastically promotes its Englishness, we didn't see a single piece of merchandise that was actually made in the U.K. As Ralph Lauren well knows, that's not terribly surprising, these days. The other issue is more delicate, however, but no less obvious. It is that there is another well-known designer whose style is almost always evoked by Ted Baker's particular take on quirky British tradition. Would there even be a Ted Baker brand if the more exclusive Paul Smith hadn't paved the road before it? The bright, unexpected colors, pattern mixing and irreverent attitude all consistently echo the more established designer. Can we call it "Hilfigeritis"? Like its American counterpart, whose comparisons to Ralph Lauren have dogged him since he started his business, The Ted Baker brand is priced just below Paul Smith's top label, and perfectly positioned to serve customers who might not be ready to shell out for the more expensive designer. Also like Hilfiger, any comparisons haven't really held the Ted Baker brand back very much, so expect so see even more of the label as this new flagship raises its profile, and if that sort of thing doesn't bother you, then get shopping.

Ted Baker 595 Fifth Avenue at 48th Street, Midtown

SPECULATION OVER: Nordstrom Officially Taking West 57th Street Location —In 2018

Well, we said don't believe it until it's confirmed, and yesterday's press conference at the company's Treasure & Bond specialty store in SoHo with Mayor Bloomberg in tow should be confirmation enough for anyone. Seattle based department store chain Nordstrom has finally chosen the base of yet to be built skyscraper planned for 225 West 57th Street at Broadway for its first New York City store. Here are the facts you have been waiting to hear:

The store will be Nordstrom's tallest at seven floors encompassing 285,000 square feet. That's bigger than Barneys and Bergdorf's Women's Store, but smaller by half or more than Saks, Lord & Taylor, Bloomingdale's and certainly Macy's Herald Square. The site extends through the block to 58th Street and is expected to have a main entrance on Broadway. So far, no architect has been chosen for either the store, or the building it will be anchoring which is being built by Extell Development. Interestingly, Nordstrom will not be paying rent, but will buy its space as a commercial condominium for a price that was not disclosed, but is sure to be breathtaking. Ultimately, store executives found the 57th street tower to be a less risky location than the Hudson Yards site the company had long been rumored to be circling according to Nordstrom’s director of merchandising, Peter Nordstrom who appeared at the conference as well as Extell President Gary Barnett.

There will be endless discussion about the effect Nordstrom will have on the neighborhood and the city's shopping scene in general, particularly in regards to the chain's famous high service ethic, but the store is not expected to open its doors for six years, so that will give competitors plenty of time to up their game.

Nordstrom will have a bit of work to do as well before it sails into Manhattan, particularly in securing vendors. While many customers know Nordstrom as moderate to high end store, it's flagship locations carry designer collections comparable to Saks, Bergdorf's and Barneys top offerings. The chain will want to put its best merchandise in the New York store, but many of those exclusive designers operate with very exclusive distribution strategies. It may take six years to convince some of the vendors they will want to carry to add another point of sale in midtown Manhattan without cannibalizing strong businesses thay have developed at Saks, Bergdorf's and Barney's along with their own boutiques.

But now the game of speculating where Nordstrom will go is officially finished. Now we have six years of watching the skyscraper and store go up and waiting to see what happens when everyone's favorite store from the Pacific Northwest goes up against a team of native New York retail powerhouses.

Nordstrom To Open First Full-Line Store In NYC (Nordstrom.com Press Release)

ONE DAY THIS WILL HAPPEN: Latest Nordstrom Rumors Focus On West 57th Street

At some point, Nordstrom will build a full-line store in Manhattan, but, for more than a decade, the question has been where? The chain has been placed at numerous sites in the city from the former Drake Hotel site at Park Avenue and 56th Street to the Hudson Yards development on the far West Side to any number of other spots around town WWD tells us that the latest location under serious consideration is in a skyscraper set to be built at 225 West 57th Street with a main entrance at 1780 Broadway. In a point of confusion, WWD has mistaken the building for another being developed by the same landlord at 157 West 57th Street between Sixth And Seventh Avenues which was also under serious consideration by Nordstrom. This more recent choice is reported to be under rapid development, and expected to be completed by the end of 2013, which could put a Nordstrom opening as early as Spring 2014.

There are pros and cons in many of the sites Nordstrom has considered, but this one looks like it may be  among the most favorable. Nordstrom almost always insists on its own buildout with its own very specific store design. This would be one of the rare sites in midtown Manhattan that would allow for this requirement. The corner store on Broadway and West 57th Street would put the chain in an area with a golden combination of wealthy residents, high tourist traffic and hotel density and close proximity to numerous subway lines. Nordstrom may never get an opportunity for a better location. Drawbacks may include the fact that the site is far west of Manhattan's luxury sweet spot which begins at 57th and Fifth and extends East to Park Avenue. Moving West on 57th street, one finds a less prestigious mix of stores heading toward Broadway, though Nordstrom's strength as a draw could ultimately change that. The Shops at Columbus Circle has already improved the area's retail mix somewhat. Still, its neighbors would include a TJMaxx and a (possibly faltering) Daffy's, not Chanel and Prada. The store ultimately could serve as a West Side counterpart to the Bloomingdale's Flagship at 59th and Lexington Avenue, creating a new luxury shopping corridor between Fifth and Broadway. After all, if there's any city that loves a new shopping corridor, it's New York.

As with any Nordstrom news, this is to be taken with more than a few grains of salt, but this rumor seems to have a lot of traction. Nothing is official without an announcement from the family-controlled company, and they have been notoriously picky, so stay tuned, and expect a twist or two.

Nordstrom Search for Manhattan Flagship Continues (WWD)
Nordstrom selects different West Side Extell space for its New York City flagship (The Real Deal)
Nordstrom finally coming to Manhattan (NYPost)

HIGH TEE: UNIQLO Is T-Shirt Crazy This Month With Dueling Superheroes, Metal Gear, Velvet and More

You may think that your movie media consciousness has already been clobbered by superheroes after "The Avengers" stormed the multiplexes of America, but we will still have Spider-Man and Batman to contend with before the summer is over UNIQLO has put the two iconic heroes from rival comic book brands head to head, at least in their 34th Street store. Among its vast assortment of styles in its UT line, the chain is not above participating in a bit of big studio movie promotion as tees promoting Sony and Marvel's "The Amazing Spider-Man" (out on July 3rd) and Warner Bros. and DC's "The Dark Knight Rises" (out on July 20th) are hanging side by side on the racks, daring you to choose which movie will triumph over the other. Of course, there will be an onslaught of tie-in merchandise for both these films everywhere in the coming weeks, but we think that Uniqlo's tees are some of the best designed we have seen. They are but a small part of the barrage of UT products tumbling into New York's Uniqlo flagships.

Tomorrow and Saturday (June 8th & 9th) will also feature special appearances by Hideo Kojima and Yoji Shinkawa, the designer and artist respectively of Metal Gear, the stealth-action game. Uniqlo will release new Metal Gear tees on those days, and to celebrate the popular game's 25th Anniversary, the pair will be signing games and memorabilia for customers at the Fifth Avenue store on Friday and at 34th Street on Saturday with strict purchase and customer requirements.

Stepping away from superheroes and video games, Uniqlo's Lulu Guiness and Orla Kiely collaborations are going strong, and this week, the chain has reprised last year's popular team up with Velvet by Graham & Spencer. A new collection of tops and dresses just hit the stores in soft cotton jerseys priced from $12.90 to $29.90.

And that is this month's Uniqlo update. New Jersey readers should be pleased to know that the area's fourth Uniqlo store will be opening this Fall in 43,000 square feet at the Garden State Plaza in Paramus, so get ready, suburbs.

UNIQLO (Official Site)

FRENCH IMPORTS: Maison Kitsuné Makes Its American Debut

The Shophound wandered into the higly anticipated new Maison Kitsuné store at the NoMad hotel yesterday only to be told that though the doors were open, the store was not. However the staff kindly invited us to have a look around anyway. They didn't go all lout and invite us to the opening party at LeBaron, but, you know, we take what we can get. Anyway, we can report that though modest in size, the boutique adds a certain flair to what continues to be one of the most strangely eclectic shopping neighborhood in the city.

For those unfailiar with the 10-year-old Kitsuné brand, it is both an apparel company that makes classic, even preppy styles filtered through a refined French sensibility and also a music label. The music side of the business is out of the spotlight in the new store which uses the elegant 1,200 square foot space to showcase the pricey but beautifully made men's and women's apparel collections along with exclusive shoes and accessories made for the store by labels like Want les Essentials de la Vie and  Pierre Hardy. We did not see the special edition J.M. Weston loafers that are reportedly being offered exclusively by the store, but we did glimpse a charming pair of multi-colored handsewn moccasins made for the brand by Maine shoemaker Quoddy.

The new store features a crisp and tidy restoration of the corner store at Broadway and 28th Street with a spanking new parquet floor and glowing globe shaped fixtures. It makes a nice companion a couple of blocks away for Opening Ceremony (which sells Kitsuné in its other locations), though the neighborhood still makes for an odd fit for the refined little shop. Only steps away are still an abundance of cheap wig and janky accessory dealers, and for all the hip folks who work in the nearby Flatiron district or in the home furnishings showrooms over on Fifth, there are just as many street vendors milling about because this is still the neighborhood where they buy their cheap sidewalk sunglasses and dodgy perfumes. We can't tell if the the NoMad and the Ace Hotels and their complementing boutiques will be able to completely remake this odd stretch between Greeley Square and the Flatiron Building into the next Meatpacking District, or even if that would be a good thing, but for now, it is probably the only part of town where you can get a $1,499 Liberty-print silk dress and a cheap bargain wig with some designer impostor perfume on exactly the same block. That must count as a unique shopping experience.

Maison Kitsuné in the NoMad Hotel 1170 Broadway at 28th Street, Midtown