It’s the day before her first New York store opens its doors to the public at 150 Mercer Street and Victoria Beckham’s staffers are sorting through photos of the loft-like space. “We’ve come full circle,” Beckham announces. “I started showing my collections, as you know, in 2008. And so to finally be opening a store in New York for me is very, very exciting.”
Beckham has come a long way from the Waldorf Astoria Hotel suite where she launched a collection of 15 results dresses—the name explains itself—for spring 2009.
After branching out into accessories and adding beauty and fragrance in 2019 and 2023 respectively, the company reached profitability for the first time last year, the company’s chairman David Belhassen confirmed earlier this week. “In this current climate, to be able to say that, that’s really something to be proud of,” Beckham notes. “Don’t forget, I’m an independent brand.” Retail is the next chapter for Beckham and co., but slow and steady wins the race has been her approach up until now.
The SoHo store is her first permanent US location, following a Miami pop-up opened earlier this year and a Dover Street shop in London that dates to 2014. “This really is a ‘flag in the sand’ moment for us, and there will be more. “But, she remarks, “we’ve always said that for us, it’s about being very considered. We don’t want to be everywhere, and where I am, I want it to be perfect, very well executed, and exactly how I believe my brand should be represented.”
Cue the double height ceiling, the 1930s Fontana Arte lantern designed by Gio Ponti, and the burgundy and white marble beauty bar that greets customers near the entrance.
The boutique takes cues from Beckham’s only other permanent retail space on London’s Dover Street, but maintaining its New York-y flavor was essential too, so Beckham worked with the artist Alexander May and designer Ole Lund of LNP on the rich, mineral palette, the mix of tactile and lacquered finishes (the latter inspired by the work of artist Tamara de Lempicka), and its polished,—or should we say Posh?—home-away-from-home feel.
Most exciting for Beckham? Having complete control over the store’s ‘buy,’ meaning choosing the pieces that the store stocks. “Obviously [that is] not the case when you’re dealing with wholesale,” says Beckham, “so I’m very excited that people will get a true sense of the brand and of my vision.”
Victoria Beckham’s new boutique at 150 Mercer Street is now open.
Source: www.vogue.com
