Leave it to a reimagined New York institution to come back for one night — in the shadow of a waning one.
In the Elizabeth Street Garden — which faces demolition on Tuesday in Manhattan’s Little Italy — Hourglass New York heralded its Barneys New York pop-up, which opens Thursday on Prince Street in a 1,500-square-foot space designed by Barneys’ former creative director Simon Doonan. The pop-up will feature an assortment curated by former fashion director Julie Gilhart.
As it turns out, the Barneys nostalgia runs deep.
Julie Gilhart, Carisa Janes, Emily Ratajkowski and Steven Kolb.
Jason Crowley/BFA.com
“Barneys was such a place for discovery and creativity, and you always found a new designer you hadn’t heard of. It’s also a place you could find a variety of price points,” said Hourglass founder Carisa Janes, who masterminded the boutique. “It was even just a fun place to hang out if you weren’t shopping, you could walk the floors and go have french fries and a martini upstairs.”
Freds got its own reincarnation at the event in the form of a martini bar, and if the line was any indication, the appetite for a Barneys-like retail environment is stronger than ever.
“The Barneys vision lives on because we looked high, we looked low — it was about product and talent first,” Gilhart said of the event’s turnout. “That’s the formula, and you will do business with it. Since this was a pop-up, we had a lot more fun with it. The curation is really tight, and each of these designers have their own communities, and that’s what creates the groundswell [of interest].”
Ella Emhoff
Brendon Cook/BFA.com
That interest was the through-line for attendees, who ranged from names like Katie Holmes, Teyana Taylor and Emily Ratajkowski to industry insiders like CFDA chief executive Steven Kolb, Alina Cho, June Ambrose and designer Ella Emhoff.
“I have memories of bringing my daughter, she was always in tow with me at Barneys. I have videos of her in adult heels in the dressing rooms, and we had a monthly lunch date there. I miss everything about it,” Ambrose said. “It gave young designers an opportunity, people like Virgil [Abloh]. These were the places that were its north star.”
“For New Yorkers, it was a ritual to go to Barneys on a Saturday or Sunday, and you made your way up,” added Cho. “New Yorkers love the idea of Barneys, and we all miss it. When we heard that there would be a Barneys pop-up, who doesn’t want to come with that? And by the way, why can’t we make it permanent?”