From Hermes popping up in the Hamptons and Paris’ cult boutique Colette popping up on the ground floor of one of The Gap’s Fifth Avenue locations to Piperlime.com opening a brick-and-mortar store during Fashion Week and Forever 21 investing one million dollars into a multi-story space for which they have only secured a six-month lease, brands all over the luxury spectrum are venturing into temporary spaces.
While costume chain Ricky’s is a great example of a pop-up store – they opened a ton of shops this past Halloween – the trend actually started back in the summer of 2009, when brands like Jimmy Choo, Hermes, Michael Kors, Brooks Brothers, Trina Turk, and Diane von Furstenberg all opened up temporary shops in the Hamptons. While pop-up shops might have something to do with the real estate recession (landlords are considering themselves better off with short-term tenants than vacant spaces), this is also a wonderful way for companies to test the demand for their product in a particular area without making any long term commitments.
This holiday season, two very different pop-ups have been gaining notable amounts of steam. The popular international-minded design blog Coolhunting has teamed with The Gap for their first-ever pop-up shop that sells products from independent companies based in the New York region. All of the items carried in the shop have been hand-picked by the blog’s editors using “the same principles—innovative design, artisan craftsmanship, social and environmental consciousness.” On a recent visit, I spotted items that would appeal to a wide spectrum of holiday shoppers – think an avocado salt and pepper shaker (the pit is the pepper), a signed copy of Pure Food and Wine’s “Living Raw”, and one-off pieces by Jonathan Adler.
The Gap will be open seven days a week through January 2nd, and is located on 5th Avenue between 53rd and 54th Streets.
Downtown high-end shopping Mecca Jeffrey New York now houses a Chanel pop-up, aiming to bring a touch of the South of France (where Chanel’s 2011 Resort show was held) to the winter cityscape.
The 1,000 square foot space takes over the menswear section in a beachy style, featuring red awnings, umbrellas, and cabana-like dressing rooms. Along with ready-to-wear and accessories from the Resort 2011 collection, the temporary space stocks Chanel’s J12 watches and men’s ties. The pop-up will be open through January 4th.
