Tommy Hilfiger Corp. (Kowloon, Hong Kong) has opened its first store devoted exclusively to women's wear, on Bleecker Street in New York.
The street, in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, has lately become the home of a number of fashion brands, including Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren, Intermix, James Perse and Mulberry. “The neighborhood attracts people from all over the city as well as international tourists,” said Hilfiger’s president of retail, Gary Sheinbaum.
The 825-square-foot space will feature the Tommy Hilfiger runway collection, branded sportswear and vintage apparel and accessories. Sheinbaum told Women’s Wear Daily he expects the store to do between $750 and $1000 in sales per square foot.
The new store will provide a platform for selling runway designs deemed too forward for wholesale accounts, according to Trent Wisehart, senior vp, creative services. “Before, products were done for the runway, but it was hard to find a place to sell them,” he told WWD. “Now, we have a place.”
The theme is a jewelry box with clear, potent color, according to Wisehart. Wood floors are painted glossy black and walls are a shade of Benjamin Moore regimental blue. Two chandeliers acquired from an estate in Connecticut are dressed with black shades. Black lacquer shelves are attached to walls with aged brass chains. Below the shelves, aged brass rods hold the garments. Vintage items drape from Lucite hangers.
Vintage posters decorate the walls, there’s a stuffed peacock in one corner of the store and a dress form, painted red, displays watches and vintage charm bracelets.
The company said it is looking into opening more women's stores, and dual-gender stores are in the works in Miami and the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. “We are open to anything that helps us continue to elevate the brand,” Sheinbaum said. “We're looking at other great cities in the U.S. and we are selectively considering some 'A' malls.”
In 2002, Hilfiger closed 37 of its 44 U.S. specialty doors and it hasn't opened a store in New York since 2001. The Bleecker Street space is the designer's third full-priced store in the U.S.