At Barneys New York shoe department on the fifth floor have some talk
"You are going to love it," gushed a store associate in the elevator,
clutching an empty flute of champagne.
There was bubbly for everyone, and the crowd of shoppers, many of whom were
European tourists, were clearly enthusiastic about the new 22,000-sq.-ft space,
which now houses all designer shoes formbtand men on one floor.
[url=http://www.wwd.com/footwear-news/retail/barneys-new-shoe-floor-a-hit-6082764][/url] "C'est incroyable," muttered a young woman, as she
stroked a black Yves Saint Laurent suede pump with a gold cap toe. A few sofas
away, a trio of Spanish-speaking women marveled at a black strappy wedge one was
modeling, taking turns to breathily say, "Fabuloso."
Store associates, too, were visibly excited, telling Footwear News business
for the day had been brisk.
The floor, unveiled Monday, was designed by architecture firm Yabu
Pushelberg, under the direction of Barneys Creative Director Dennis FreedmanMBT.
The space boasts ample natural light, with white Italian marble walls and
translucent brass-mesh screens that help break up the space and highlight select
merchandise. There are also custom-designed seats upholstered in mohair and
cotton velvet, and strategically positioned full-length mirrors.
In the women's section, two semi-private "cubes" took pride of place in the
center of the floor and were dedicated to Christian Louboutin and Manolo
Blahnik, the store's anchor brands. As the women's department merged with men's,
a significant amount of square footage housed Miu Miu andcheap MBTPrada.
Within the men's section, brands exclusive to Barneys were marked "xo" and
displayed along the windows, bathing them in sunlight. Names include Sergio
Rossi, Alberto Moretti-Arfango, Battistoni, Endless, Harris, Officine Creative,
Franceschetti and Bettanin & Venturi.
Exclusives, in fact, also play a large part on the new shoe floor, with
brands such as Narciso Rodriguez, Mauyet, Manolo Blahnik, Giuseppe Zanotti,MBT,Christian Louboutin, Balenciaga,
Prada, Balmain, Ferragamo, Givenchy, Lanvin, Tod's, Church's and John Lobb
creating styles especially for the retailer.
There were new iPad stations throughout the floor, which provided
complimentary access to Barneys.com and its luxury content site, The Window.
Sales associates also were taking full advantage of hand-held mobile devices,
which provided current info on sizes in stock.
"The opening of our new fifth floor for shoes is another milestone in our
multiyear plan to renovate our Madison Avenue flagship, which creates new cross
connections between the women's and men's floors," Barneys CEO Mark Lee said in
a statement. "We are excited to unveil this luxurious new environment to our
customers and shoe designers and are proud to support the Human Rights Campaign
in the spirit of all variations of Perfect Pairs."
Perfect Pairs is a project that supports the Human Rights Campaign's
Americans for Marriage Equality Program. As part of the effort, Barneys will
donate 10 percent of sales from the new shoe floor between July 16-22 to the HRC
to further its work in fighting discrimination against LGBT people and expanding
marriage equality around the country.
"You are going to love it," gushed a store associate in the elevator,
clutching an empty flute of champagne.
There was bubbly for everyone, and the crowd of shoppers, many of whom were
European tourists, were clearly enthusiastic about the new 22,000-sq.-ft space,
which now houses all designer shoes formbtand men on one floor.
[url=http://www.wwd.com/footwear-news/retail/barneys-new-shoe-floor-a-hit-6082764][/url] "C'est incroyable," muttered a young woman, as she
stroked a black Yves Saint Laurent suede pump with a gold cap toe. A few sofas
away, a trio of Spanish-speaking women marveled at a black strappy wedge one was
modeling, taking turns to breathily say, "Fabuloso."
Store associates, too, were visibly excited, telling Footwear News business
for the day had been brisk.
The floor, unveiled Monday, was designed by architecture firm Yabu
Pushelberg, under the direction of Barneys Creative Director Dennis FreedmanMBT.
The space boasts ample natural light, with white Italian marble walls and
translucent brass-mesh screens that help break up the space and highlight select
merchandise. There are also custom-designed seats upholstered in mohair and
cotton velvet, and strategically positioned full-length mirrors.
In the women's section, two semi-private "cubes" took pride of place in the
center of the floor and were dedicated to Christian Louboutin and Manolo
Blahnik, the store's anchor brands. As the women's department merged with men's,
a significant amount of square footage housed Miu Miu andcheap MBTPrada.
Within the men's section, brands exclusive to Barneys were marked "xo" and
displayed along the windows, bathing them in sunlight. Names include Sergio
Rossi, Alberto Moretti-Arfango, Battistoni, Endless, Harris, Officine Creative,
Franceschetti and Bettanin & Venturi.
Exclusives, in fact, also play a large part on the new shoe floor, with
brands such as Narciso Rodriguez, Mauyet, Manolo Blahnik, Giuseppe Zanotti,MBT,Christian Louboutin, Balenciaga,
Prada, Balmain, Ferragamo, Givenchy, Lanvin, Tod's, Church's and John Lobb
creating styles especially for the retailer.
There were new iPad stations throughout the floor, which provided
complimentary access to Barneys.com and its luxury content site, The Window.
Sales associates also were taking full advantage of hand-held mobile devices,
which provided current info on sizes in stock.
"The opening of our new fifth floor for shoes is another milestone in our
multiyear plan to renovate our Madison Avenue flagship, which creates new cross
connections between the women's and men's floors," Barneys CEO Mark Lee said in
a statement. "We are excited to unveil this luxurious new environment to our
customers and shoe designers and are proud to support the Human Rights Campaign
in the spirit of all variations of Perfect Pairs."
Perfect Pairs is a project that supports the Human Rights Campaign's
Americans for Marriage Equality Program. As part of the effort, Barneys will
donate 10 percent of sales from the new shoe floor between July 16-22 to the HRC
to further its work in fighting discrimination against LGBT people and expanding
marriage equality around the country.