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Yigal Azrouël Joins The Meatpacking District Exodus And Heads Uptown

YIGALboutiqueDidn't seem like just yesterday that the Meatpacking District was a magnet for exclusive designer boutiques? Yet another designer has hit the 10-year mark on West 14th Street with an announcement that it was time to move on in part because of the neighborhood's changing retail mix. Yigal Azrouël will be shuttering his boutique (pictured at left) in favor not of SoHo, as has been the typical pattern, but of the more rarefied heights of Madison Avenue at 78th Street. Azrouël will open his new store in September, probably sometime around Fashion Week.

One might assume that the designer was simply escaping the inevitable rent hike that has hit Meatpacking boutiques ready to renew long-term leases, but Madison Avenue rents are not exactly at bargain rates at the moment, so the change is also a choice to move to a shopping area less likely to be invaded by national chains and lower priced stores. A representative for the designer told WWD that more recent arrivals to the Meatpacking District led by Apple brought a new wave of customers to the area who are less interested in higher-end designer boutiques. Azrouël's new store will put him in the company of longtime Madison Avenue stalwarts like Missoni, Intermix and the Carlyle Hotel as well as upcoming or more recent openings like Lisa Perry, Vince and Sandro.

So what does this mean for The Meatpacking District? Depite high profile departures like Azrouël, Stella McCartney and others, the neighborhood is still anchored by Jeffrey, one of the city's most exclusive boutiques, and designers like Moschino, Hugo Boss and Krizia. Jay Godfrey and Intermix are recent arrivals as well, and a new Christian Louboutin men's shop is on the way, but as leases come up for renewal, designers seem to to be less confident that the area will consistently bring the kind of big-spending customers that they need to sustain a thriving boutique at the elevated rents that the neighborhood's landlords are now demanding.

Yigal Azrouël Heading Uptown to Madison Ave. (WWD)

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