The Shophound

MIAMI CALLING: Is The Webster Coming To SoHo?

Can a luxury store designed for glamorous Miami transplant itself to New York? The New York Post says that The Webster, the Collins Avenue retailer featuring a covetable roster of designer labels, will be taking over a 4,000 square foot outpost at 29 Greene Street just below Grand Street in SoHo. The Webster may be best known to non-South Beach denizens as one of the first group of stores to participate in The Shops at Target last Spring. Will its signature pink flamingo survive the flight north? Owners Laure Heriard Dubreuil and Milan Vukmirovic have backgrounds in European fashion brands and retailers like Colette, Jil Sander, Yves Saint Laurent and Balenciaga, so they should fit right in if the store appears in SoHo. There's no confirmation from either the store or the owners of the building, but if the rumors are true, then it will be an interesting Fall if The Webster opens up at the same time as Comme des Garçon's Dover Street Market. Think of it as a luxury boutique Face-Off.

Pink flamingo seen in SoHo (NYPost via RACKED)
The Webster (Official Site)

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)

DESIGNER DEPARURES: Will Stores Accept Simon Spurr The Label Without Its Namesake?

There is little news from the main players in the split of designer Simon Spurr from the company that bears his name as both the designer, his former business partner and the most of the retailers who carry the label have reserved comment about the surprising situation. In a follow up, WWD confirms several points including that the company was as blindsided by the development late last week as retailers and other followers of New York's menswear industry were. Company co-founder Judd Nydes is expected to continue the business without the designer, but influential Los Angeles stylist and retailer Ilaria Urbinati, a co-owner of the boutique Confederacy, which has carried the designer since he started the brand with a denim line, announced that she will not continue to sell the label without Spurr's involvement. “He was the heart and soul of the company. The brand is 100 percent about him and his aesthetic and vision. I don’t think it can survive without him,” she tells WWD.

Spurr's client list includes an enviable group of the most exclusive stores here and abroad like Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, Maxfield and Jeffrey among others, and most of them have not commented on the situation, perhaps in hopes that it will resolve itself amicably. Will they be willing to risk continuing to carry an expensive line so closely associated with its designer's personal touch without him? Will this become a situation where a designer is bitterly separated from his own brand like that of Joseph Abboud, for example, or one where the designer bides his time and eventually regains control of his trademark, like Roland Mouret did?

One thing WWD clarifies is that Simon Spurr the person is still eligible for the CFDA Mens Designer of the Year Award for which he was nominated only days before he resigned.

Future of Simon Spurr Brand Up in the Air By David Lipke (WWD)
Previously:
Today In Head-Scratchers: Simon Spurr Leaves Simon Spurr

LUXURY REDUX: Loewe Planning A Return To New York?

Spanish leathergoods brand Loewe has had an uneven history in the U.S. over the past couple of decades which have included at various times a New York boutique, the introduction of a prêt-à-porter collection by Narciso Rodriguez who has been followed by various other designers, and then an exit from the U.S.market at other times -all while U.S. customers have struggled to properly pronounce the name (for the record, it should sound like Low-ay-vay). Today's WWD features a profile of the luxury brand which is now under LVMH's stewardship and, under the creative direction of former Mulberry designer Stuart Vevers has been clocking consistent growth with a renewed emphasis on accessories and handbags. U.S. business has been limited to a handful of exclusive stores like Bergdorf Goodman, Jeffrey and Long Island's Hirshleifer's, but there has been no coordinated strategy for the brand here. WWD suggests that may change as, like any brand undergoing a carefully strategized global expansion, Loewe is said to be looking to try again in New York with a new boutique. The paper is vague, without any confirmation from the company's executives, but the same questions will apply to Loewe as they will to any luxury brand looking for a retail spot in the city: Madison Avenue, Bleecker Street, SoHo or Meatpacking District? Or maybe a combination of some of the above?

Barcelona Store Marks Loewe's Growth Progress (WWD)
Loewe (Official Site)