NEW YORK — Department store chain Nordstrom has opened the doors to its first-ever flagship store for women and children in New York City. Located at 225 West 57th Street, across from Nordstrom’s Men’s Store which launched in April 2018, the new store occupies the base of Central Park Tower, the tallest residential building in the world. Customers can now shop 320,000 square-feet of retail space across seven-levels in the heart of the city.
(Photo: The inside of Nordstrom’s new store. Photo by Connie Zhou)
As diverse as New York City itself, merchandise includes a curated offering across all categories. Customers can shop a comprehensive selection of apparel brands across a broad range of accessible and aspirational price points, including Dries Van Noten, Givenchy, Saint Laurent, Vince, Ted Baker London, Madewell, Reformation and Topshop, complemented by an extensive selection of accessory brands like Longchamp, Chloe, Valentino, Fendi, Loewe, MCM, Coach and more.
Honoring its heritage in shoes dating back to 1901, Nordstrom NYC offers customers three shoe departments, including one entire floor dedicated to women’s shoes. The vast shoe selection will include Gucci, Prada, Christian Louboutin, Golden Goose, Tory Burch, Birkenstock, UGG, Steve Madden, Nike and more.
MERCHANDISE CONCEPTS
A testament to the ever-evolving nature of the New York City store, the first level will be home to a rotating series of installations, kicking off with a Christian Louboutin pop-up featuring an exclusive 30-piece capsule of footwear, handbags and gift items for men & women, inspired by the Palais de la Porte Dorée museum near Louboutin’s childhood home in Paris.
True to its roots in shoes, Nordstrom is launching Perfect Pairs, an exclusive collaboration with 14 customer favorite brands, and a diverse group of NYC muses, bringing together the likes of Steve Madden with model Winnie Harlow; Cole Haan with poet and activist Cleo Wade; Nike with Tennis champion Maria Sharapova; Birkenstock with celebrity stylist Leslie Fremar; UGG with costume designer Patricia Field, and more.
Olivia Kim, Nordstrom Vice President of Creative Projects, also brings the unique Nordstrom offering to life, curating concepts within the flagship to create a sense of newness and discovery for customers.
Beginning with British fashion house Burberry, the exclusive Nordstrom concept shop will showcase products from the Autumn/Winter 2019 collection, housed within a giant, immersive installation spanning five rooms, accented with wood paneled walls and raised theatre style seating, windows for visitors to illustrate or tag with graffiti, and a café featuring Nick Knight’s Portrait of a Rose print throughout with a menu of British classics available to order.
Kicking off fall with Nordstrom x Nike (NxN), Nordstrom has developed the ultimate women’s sneaker boutique with a distinctive view on style and sport. NxN is the place to find coveted Nike product with a curated selection of merchandise from the most compelling brands in fashion. To celebrate the opening, the shop will exclusively launch a Jordan Air Latitude 720 sneaker with Swarovski and the Nike by Olivia Kim capsule collection of sneakers and apparel, inspired by Kim’s NYC-experience during the 90s, launching in-store on October 31.
The opening of the New York City flagship brings the exciting in-store curation of SPACE, a boutique featuring advanced and emerging designer collections selected by Olivia Kim from brands such as Cecille Bahnsen, Bode, Eckhaus Latta, Jacquemus, Martine Rose, Molly Goddard, and Simone Rocha, as well as exclusives from Tom Wood and Sandy Liang. Unique to the flagship, SPACE includes the first branded in-store shop from Acne Studios, and a one-of-a-kind Comme des Garçons shop designed with artist and furniture designer Marc Hundley.
BEAUTY
Elevating the in-store beauty shopping experience to new heights, the flagship will offer more than 100 beauty brands spanning two floors, including 16 shops from brands such as YSL, Armani, Dior, MAC, La Prairie, Byredo, Le Labo, Diptyque and Creed. Four digital experiences were developed for customers to explore the extensive offering. Experiences include a Lipstick Finder, allowing customers to try on 400 lip colors via augmented reality; Fragrance Finder, an interactive quiz designed to narrow down the perfect scent, including a button to press and smell the desired scent; a Skincare Finder to assess the individual needs of each customer and recommend helpful products; and Beauty Stylist Virtual Mirror, an interactive mirror that allows customers to virtually ‘try on’ trend makeup looks.
Located one floor above the make-up counters, Nordstrom Beauty Haven is where the most-branded beauty services come together under one roof, including Base Coat manicures, Sisley and Heyday facials, blowouts by Dry Bar, eyebrow shaping by Anastasia Beverly Hills and threading by Blink Brow Bar, St. Tropez spray tans, The Light Salon light therapy, and, for the first time at a department store, injectables with Kate Sommerville.
SERVICE AND EXPERIENCE
Speed and conveniences can be the greatest luxuries for customers, and perhaps no one understands that more than New Yorkers. Customers shopping at Nordstrom NYC will find Express Services, where they can pick-up their online orders, try them on and utilize alterations services as needed. The store also offers 24/7 online order pick-up and delivery, same-day delivery to eligible addresses, on-site alterations and tailoring, including express alterations in 30-60 minutes, and in-store cobbler services. Additionally, customers can utilize styling services including a Stylist’s Lounge for one-on-one stylist appointments and style boards which are personalized digital experiences created by stylists for customers for a convenient and personalized way of shopping anytime, anywhere. For additional convenience, customers will experience a digitally-enabled store experience including connected fitting rooms, digital directories, cell phone charging stations and more.
With the recent openings of two Nordstrom Local service hubs in the New York City market, the company will have a total of six area locations, including Nordstrom Rack and Trunk Club, that will enable it to better serve customers. All six locations, including the NYC flagship, will provide quick and easy returns, alterations, and more.
FOOD AND BEVERAGE
Customer can dine from seven food and beverage options – which is more than at any other Nordstrom store. Making their NYC restaurant debuts are celebrated Seattle-based chefs Ethan Stowell and Tom Douglas. Stowell teamed up with Nordstrom on Wolf, an Italian-inspired restaurant and bar; and Douglas is introducing three concepts, Jeannie’s for pizza, toasted sandwiches and gelato, a Pacific-Rim-inspired menu at Hani Pacific, and Oh Mochi! a gluten-free donut shop. Rounding out the offering are Bistro Verde, a family-friendly all-day destination; and Shoe Bar and Broadway Bar for handcrafted cocktails and light bites. For customers seeking sweet indulgences, the Men’s Store recently opened Milk Bar across the street.
STORE DESIGN
The flagship features an iconic glass wave façade designed by James Carpenter Design Associates to bring in more natural light and provide an interactive viewing experience for customers inside the store and for all at street level – connecting the shopping experience to the city. An open, hyper-flexible floor plan allows for an evolving curation of how products are displayed over time, depending on what New Yorkers respond to. The store environment creates a sense of discovery, allowing customers to navigate easily and find new brands they haven’t experienced before.
COMMUNITY
Nordstrom is committed to supporting the communities where it does business. Each year, Nordstrom donates millions of dollars to hundreds of non-profit organizations across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, with the majority of giving focused on organizations and programs that care for kids and families.
With the expansion in New York City, Nordstrom announced a commitment to give $5 million dollars in NYC by the end of 2020, through a combination of investments and community grants. October 21st marks the beginning of a long-term commitment to Good+Foundation and the tens of thousands of families it supports every year in its efforts to dismantle multi-generational poverty. This work will include helping deliver essential items like cribs, diapers and strollers as well as providing access to family services like job training, couples counseling and parenting classes with the long-term goal of creating a healthier, safer environment for parents and children. Nordstrom will also be supporting the foundation through its 2019 NYC in-store holiday campaign and more.
