The Shophound

RESHUFFLING COMPLETE: Ralph Lauren's RRL Finally Hits The Big Time In SoHo

It's been a tumultuous 12 months for Ralph Lauren's retail network in New York. We have seen the opening of a lavish new women's flagship, a relocated SoHo boutique and renovations and relocations for almost all of his other stores in the city. The final piece of a complicated plan is now in place as a spacious RRL store has just opened on West Broadway in the space that began as Polo Sport sometime during the 1990s and then became a full line Ralph Lauren store for the past 10 years.

Now RRL has moved in, and the classic SoHo loft space seems to finally have found an occupant that clicks. The previous mix of the designer's men's and women's premium labels was never a good fit for the space, literally becoming even more jumbled than Lauren's signature cluttered merchandising style could bear and leaving the rear of the store in a constant state of unfinished flux. As a menswear-only label (for now, anyway) RRL fills the space better, and it's vintage-look point of view harmonizes nicely with the building's cast-iron bones along with plenty of 'ye olde haberdashery shoppe' additions from Lauren's prodigious store design team.

As we noted when the expanded Bleecker Street RRL opened over the Summer, the label has evolved into yet another of Lauren's complete lifestyle collection —one of six, yes six premium labels for men alone. This new SoHo location is the first that really allows the line to breathe. Of course, this being Ralph Lauren, there's an extra abundance of vintage stuff mixed in with the regular merchandise with a particular focus on boots, shoes and leather jackets. Counter display cases are filled with vintage watches, silver jewelry and cufflinks It's almost as if the designer is daring his customers to compare his offerings with actual examples culled from countless thrift shops and rummage sales to see how well he has replicated their patina. The RRL design teams have done a remarkable job making their newly manufactured products look like they have been moldering in an attic somewhere for decades, stopping just short of applying ersatz ring-around-the-collar to shirts meticulously packaged to appear as if they were first folded and pinned during the Great Depression.

So, for the moment, it looks like Lauren's ten various freestanding stores in the city are settled with their merchandise, although who knows how long that could last? As his labels proliferate in ways that often seem to defy logic, it is probably only a matter of time until a RRL women's collection horns its way into the new SoHo store, or new spaces will have to be added for more Rugby shops or perhaps a showcase for the new Black Label Denim line that has suddenly taken over sizable swaths of floor space this season in Barneys, Bloomingdale's and Saks. For the time being, however, this array of shops should be able satisfy demand.

RRL & Co. 379 West Broadway between Spring & Broome Street, SoHo
Previously:
New RRL Is Open On Bleecker With Another Set For SoHo And Twin Rugby Shops On The Way

CHAIN GANG: Ralph Lauren's Rugby Stores Are Open On Bleecker Street

Ralph Lauren has completed his Bleecker Street reshuffling that leaves his West Village stores devoted to specialized diffusion brands rather than his main collection. Last Saturday, he opened his second and third Rugby stores in New York City in the spaces that once housed children's and RRL shops. This being Bleecker Street, the shops are... compact, to say the least, with one for men and one for women. Rugby is Lauren's more "collegiate" line meaning it offers familiar Lauren looks in a trimmer, "younger" silhouette with an emphasis on those preppy classics that built his brand. It is also unique in that, for now at least, the label is only available in freestanding Rugby branded stores and online. These shops differ from the other, larger yet still cluttery Ruby store on University Place by being merchandised in a slightly more grown-up way for Bleecker Streets more grown-up customers with a focus on more tailored looks like the Italian-made suits we found in the men's store.

So Bleecker Street is settled for now, but it's hard not to think of it as a game of musical stores for Lauren and his neighbor Marc Jacobs who have ten stores in the area between them and at any moment could chose to shift their stores around and start the whole shuffling process all over again.

Rubgy by Ralph Lauren 380 & 390 Bleecker Street, West Village

COPYCATS: In Which We Discover Ralph Lauren Blatantly Knocking Off Maharishi

So, the other day, The Shophound was wandering through Bloomingdale's on 59^th Street to see of there was anything worthwhile remaining of the last Summer markdowns when we noticed the lavishly embroidered pant you see above. We thought, "Oh, look. Bloomingdale's is carrying Maharishi now."

Many may know Maharishi as the London based sportswear line that gained a cult following by festooning military-style clothing with bright Chinese-style embroidery. At the time the label reached its peak —the late 1990s and early 2000s— it was an unlikely and charming combination. For a time, the label was a mainstay at Barneys and other similarly influential retailers, but after a while, shoppers moved on to other brands, and the label became less visible in such stores. Unfortunately, the style spawned many unfortunate imitators who copied the brand's ideas with less finesse (culminating in the hideous cacophony that is Ed Hardy), but somehow, the originators always seemed to get the look right.

Imagine our surprise when we took a closer look at the pants before us and discovered that they were not from Maharishi at all, but RLX, Ralph Lauen's high-tech athletic line.

Now, Ralph Lauren has been accused of copying things for most of his career as a designer, and most of the time he probably wouldn't argue. His inspirations, however, tend to include the classics whose origins are decades in the past, or vintage items that are lovingly adapted for modern consumption. You can't fault someone too heavily for trying to reproduce the elegant line of Cary Grant's suits if nobody else is making them, and it goes without saying that he has found an enormously receptive customer base for his products, but Maharishi is still very much alive and in operation. While the RLX pants are probably not a direct copy of a Maharishi embroidery, the concept is clearly lifted wholesale from the British company. Compare the images below (click to enlarge). On the left is the RLX "combat pant" taken from Ralph Lauren's website, and on the right is a current offering from Maharishi, the signature "Original Dragon Snopant", virtually unchanged from the version The Shophound picked up in 1999 from Ron Herman at Fred Segal on Melrose in Los Angeles (at the very least, you can say they are consistent). Over the past 15 years, they have produced their signature "snopants" with innumerable different embroidery designs, and it has become the brand's flagship item.

So you decide, copying or "hommage"? We know where we stand. On the plus side, maybe this means its time to take our Maharishi pants out of the "Archives" closet and put them back into rotation.

 

BLEECKER BROWSING: New RRL Is Open On Bleecker With Another Set For SoHo And Twin Rugby Shops On The Way

We weren't expecting much news from a sultry July Saturday stroll down Bleecker Street, but leave it to Ralph Lauren give us some good material. His retail division has been even busier than we though reconfiguring his network of Manhattan stores. The new RRL store that took over his previous Men's and Women's Collection stores has opened. In fact, the complex remains two separate stores, but at least there seems to logical reasoning behind that. The larger store on the corner of Bleecker and Perry Streets carries the current incarnation of the RRL brand. After a rocky start in the '90s, RRL found its groove when it was recast as a premium denim collection with a rugged western edge. Now freed of its hyper-cluttered space up the street, the sportswear collection can be shopped without the inevitable likelihood of bumping up against other shoppers or the store staff. Not that there isn't clutter —it is Ralph Lauren after all— but there's more room to breathe, and the former women's store's extensive cabinetry has been scaled back and stripped of its pristine white paint. Another welcome discovery is the expansion of the RRL shoe line, which started last year with a couple of sturdy boots made in the U.S.A, and has been expanded to a full, domestically produced collection clearly aimed at Red Wing's and Wolverine's rabid fan base.

But what about the other shop? Since the two side by side spaces have not been joined into a single store, the former men's shop is now where Lauren is debuting a new Italian-made tailored clothing line under RRL's label. Hard finished woolen fabrics have been fashioned into suiting separates with generous 1940's style lapels and deeply pleated trousers. Patterns can be mixed and matched depending on how committed one is to the look. Though the pieces are finished and treated to look like they have been plucked from a vintage store, or better yet, rescued from a decades old trove of dead stock, they don't come cheap, with a suit easily topping $1,200 before you even add the only slightly optional vest. There are dress shirts and ties with the same rumpled patina available as well, along with an abundance of vintage shoes and accessories for those determined to dress just like Elliott Ness or Spencer Tracy. Lauren isn't quite finished with expanding his RRL presentation in the city yet, however. That Collection store at 379 West Broadway in SoHo that he ditched for more evocative digs on Prince Street is set to be converted to an even bigger RRL store. According to the Ralph Lauren website, it's "coming soon".

But that's not all, folks. There's still the smaller space on Bleecker left empty from the RRL move (below). It is going to be made over into a Rugby store along with what used to be the Ralph Lauren children's store down the street, one presumably for each gender. They will be the city's second and third for Lauren's more "collegiate" line after the main location on University place just south of Union Square. They should do quite well on Bleecker with the folks who shop at Gant Rugger and Hilfiger.

So, you see, they have been extra busy moving stuff around over at Polo Retail Headquarters. We almost feel like we will have to check around town to make sure that the rest of his stores are the same as they were a few weeks ago. After all, that NoLita RRL store space is bound to be turned into something else once it moves to West Broadway.

MYSTERY SOLVED: Ralph Lauren To Move RRL Into Shuttered Men's & Women's Stores

Just before Memorial Day, Ralph Lauren quietly and swiftly shuttered his Bleecker Street Men's and Women's Collection stores with an unofficial assurance that they would be converted into some other retail concept. Well, speculate no more, the clouded over windows show that the stores will be turned over to the RRL denim and vintage-style sportswear label, as The Shophound had guessed (well, we kind of guessed a bunch of things, so it was really more like multiple choice). It's not a surprising move. His current RRL store is among the most cramped and cluttery on the street. The line has finally started to take off in the past couple of years, so an expansion is more than in order. With his new, larger Collection store on Prince Street, the smaller Bleecker stores hardly seemed like a significant representation of his highest end lines, in the general scheme of things.

We would assume that the two side-by-side stores would be connected to make the most of the poky spaces that typically characterize Bleecker retail, but the new RRL is slated to open by this Summer which technically starts in three weeks. Who can tell if three months is enough time to complete the necessary renovations, but with enough resources —and nobody has resources like Ralph— anything's possible.

Previously:
Why Is Ralph Lauren Ditching Bleecker Street? (6-26-2011)

SURPRISE DEPARTURES: Why Is Ralph Lauren Ditching Bleecker Street?

Our friends at RACKED discovered a surprising sight yesterday: Ralph Lauren's men's and women's stores have apparently been abruptly shut down. It's not for renovations or remodeling either. The signage has been removed and the windows are smudged over. Signs on the doors direct customers to the company's brand new store on Prince Street in SoHo.

What's especially surprising is that the women's unit on the corner of Bleecker and Perry had only opened less than two years ago after moving from a smaller location across the street that, as far as we know, remains a Ralph Lauren children's store.

We could speculate and speculate about why this is happening. Did someone finally realize that the tiny stores (that men's store could barely hold more than three customers at a time) might never be able to generate enough business to justify what must be a huge overhead? Having just seen Ralph's gazillion-acre Colorado ranch on one of Oprah's last shows, we have a hard time believing that his company would suddenly be nickel and diming over such coveted addresses. Racked tracked down a company rep who confirmed that the company was not abandoning the stores entirely but converting them for another Ralph Lauren brand which will take over the spaces. Perhaps the equally cramped RRL store down the street will be moved in, or possibly a new Rugby store. Today's WWD article about Ralph Lauren's upcoming retail strategies does not mention the Bleecker Stores, but does point out that the designer has several different premium denim collections in the works. And then there's the possibility that they could be turned into Club Monaco which, let's face it, would have to be considered something of a downgrade. What would this mean for the other high-end designer stores who have agreed to the high rents that pushed out Bleecker Street's original independent retailers?

Bleecker Street Ralph Laurens Both Shuttered, Seemingly Overnight (RACKED)
Polo Ralph Lauren to Invest $1B to Expand Own Retail (WWD)

 

TODAY IN RELOCATIONS: Ralph Lauren Completes His SoHo Switch-Up

When we heard that Ralph Lauren was taking over the former longtime Replay store at 109 Prince Street. He must have had some spectacular new store concept for the landmarked building. Perhaps he would split his SoHo locations into separate Men's and Women's stores as he had on Madison Avenue, or maybe he had yet another exciting ub-label to introduce.

Of course, his real plans were far simpler: to move his West Broadway boutique to a larger, grander space. As the new store quietly opened over the weekend, the West Broadway shop, which, frankly, had always seemed somewhat cramped and awkward after it was converted from a Polo Sport store to a regular boutique, shut its doors. Whether Ralph is planning to convert it to something else (it might be nice to see a RRL store that holds more than 3 people at a time, for example), or sublease it to someone else entirely remains to be seen, but the move has resulted in a vastly improved SoHo store for him.

The street level retains the building's original pressed tin ceiling as well as classic SoHo exposed ducts and pipes overhead, but adds the expected Ralph Lauren flourishes to house the women's Blue, Black and Purple Label collections. Downstairs, the top Men's labels are arrayed in a larger more sprawling environment including special sections for RLX activewear, RRL and a special counter to order personalized Polo knit shirts.. Of course, this store can't approach the grandeur of Ralph's pair of new and old Madison Avenue mansions. The cast-iron building, like others of its kind in Soho, was originally built for commercial purposes, not gracious living, but Ralph's prodigious retail team has condensed the concepts of the uptown stores into edited versions that fit well into the new site.

Between the new boutique, and an expanding Apple Store across the street, the corner of Prince and Greene streets is now something of a new power corner in SoHo.
Watch the tourists converge.

Ralph Lauren 109 Prince Street at Greene Street, SoHo

FLAGSHIP FANFARE: Ralph Lauren Conquers Madison

And The Conquereor will build a palace.

Today's the big day for Ralph Lauren's new Women's and Home Mansion at Madison Avenue and 72^nd Street after yesterday's VIP preview where the designer received the Key to New York City. Now is your chance to weigh in on the imposing new boutique. How much you love it depends on how much you love Ralph Lauren, who, popular as he is, can be surprisingly polarizing. We can promise you that inside it is just as lavish as we expected and then some. There were few surprises among the dazzling ersatz Gilded Age decor. The store centers around a grand staircase that sweeps up through the four floors ending at the home collection showcase at the top. It's worth noting that the boutique no longer sells the same Lauren by Ralph Lauren home furnishing merchandise that is sold in department stores. Here you will find his exclusive premier bedding, gift and tabletop lines arranged around the model rooms that made the top floor of the mansion across the street such a destination when it opened decades ago.

More than anything, what struck us about the new store was how Lauren is now following the merchandising patterns of European luxury brands like Gucci or Prada. The main floor, much like Gucci's Trump Tower brand palace, is devoted to accessories and sunglasses with a detour into the designer's new precious jewelry and timepiece lines. Lauren is surely the most successful designer in America, and possibly the world, but he has learned a few lessons from the extravagant flagships that he as well as his competitors have begun to scatter across the globe. Gone are the counters of antique jewelry and watches in favor of his own seamless brand presentation. Another surprising European-influenced change was in the sales staff. They were still a fresh faced, camera-ready group, but while they were once styled within inches of their lives, sometimes modeling the brand's most extravagant signature looks, they are now discreetly clad in black uniforms, with sleek dresses or jackets for women and understated dark suits with white pocket squares for the men.

Lots has been and will be written about the store, including yesterday's New York Times article which was stuck on the notion that none of these opulent flagship stores are profitable alone but serve as valuable advertising vehicles to sell less expensive merchandise elsewhere. There's really no way to verify that presumption, and its accuracy will certainly vary from brand to brand and season to season. This building must have come with a price tag well into eight figures, and the overhead on Madison Avenue is generally staggering, but whether the store is profitable is really neither my problem nor yours. The store, along with its refreshed brother mansion across the street, only proves that for sheer theatrical retail spectacle, Ralph Lauren remains the king.

Ralph Lauren Women's & Home Flagship 888 Madison Avenue at 72^nd Street, Upper East Side
At Polo Store, the Feel of a Mansion to Bolster a Brand By Stephanie Clifford (NYTimes)
Previously:
Madison Avenue News Flash: Ralph Lauren's New Women's Mansion To Open This Friday

MADISON AVENUE NEWS FLASH: Ralph Lauren's New Women's Mansion To Open This Friday

And how are we so sure that the store will open on Friday, October 15th? Because when we passed by the store yesterday afternoon, we asked Ralph Lauren's Executive Vice President of Global Retail Development, Charles Fagan and, like a proud expectant parent, that's what he told us. We can't imagine a better source besides Ralph himself

Mark your calendars and expect something lavish.

JON CARAMANICA GOES SHOPPING: Landmark Mansion Edition

This week's Critical Shopper, Jon Caramanica, takes on Ralph Lauren's iconic Rhinelander Mansion boutique, which has been newly reconfigured and devoted exclusively to the designer's top mens lines, Polo, RLX, Balck Label, RRL and Purple Label. Mr. Lauren's PR machine has been touting the new store partly to promote it's new role, but also as a prelude to what we can expect will be a major media blitz when the brand new companion mansion for his women's collections opens on the other side of Madison Avenue next month. He gives the sales staff high marks for service, but touring through the store, he finds the merchandise to be something of a mixed bag. With so many different lines pitched at different customers like washed out RRL shirts for the faux-vintage minded and fuller proportioned garb for longtime customers who grown and matured along with the designer's 43-year old business, some things inevitably work better than others:

And when Ralph tries to be hip, it’s slightly awkward. A snuggly, blanketlike black cashmere blazer with purple trim ($3,995) was very Chuck Bass, the early years. And sprinkled throughout the store were some defiant club collars, a few seasons too late, though the pink-striped one ($95) looked versatile.

Yet, somehow Ralph Lauren turns out to be beyond reviewing. He is the critic-proof designer. He has literally constructed his own world over the years, and if you are not a loyal, devoted citizen, you are just a tourist, observing a different culture. Criticize him for being repetitive, or slavishly copying Savile Row tailors, Brooks Brothers or vintage goods, and he can point to millions of enthralled customers who adore the very thing that you find so irksome.

Well, maybe not that black and purple cashmere blazer.

Critical Shopper | Ralph Lauren Men: Uncompromising, Like a Gentleman By Jon Caramanica (NYTimes)
Ralph Lauren Men 867 Madison Avenue at 72^nd Street, Upper East Side