Nordstrom is bringing international cachet to a handful of North American locations.
This week, the Seattle-based department store chain announced the launch of a partnership between Nordstrom Space—an in-store and online boutique dedicated to emerging and established designer—and Dover Street Market Paris (DSMP), an avant-garde high-fashion concept store helmed by Comme des Garçons.
The joint effort will feature all seven brands currently featured under DSMP’s brand development arm, which will debut their spring-summer 2021 lines at Nordstrom’s New York City flagship, its location at The Grove outdoor mall in Los Angeles, and its store at Vancouver’s Pacific Centre. The collections will be available to shop in-store and online at Nordstrom.com for six weeks.
Nordstrom says the shop-in-shop’s goal is to champion DSMP’s up-and-coming and independent designers, while introducing a new and diverse set of brands to the North American market. The collaboration also represents the first time that Nordstrom has partnered with another retailer for a shop-in-shop experience.
“We started Space five years ago as a platform to support emerging designers, provide continued newness, and inspire a sense of discovery for the Nordstrom customer,” Olivia Kim, vice president of creative projects and home at Nordstrom, said in a statement, adding that the teams have shared a “long-standing relationship.”
“When we heard that they had created a division to support emerging designers, we knew we had to approach them about this concept as it aligns so closely with our mission,” she added.
The collaboration’s featured brands include a number of industry disruptors with varying design perspectives. New York-based Vaquera, which means “cowgirl” in Spanish, is a design collective by Patric DiCaprio, Claire Sullivan and Bryn Taubensee whose collection aims to redefine luxury for people who identify as outsiders. Meanwhile, Russian designer Gosha Rubchinskiy and pro-skater Tolia Titaev’s Rassvet (which translates to “sunrise” in Russian) highlights the country’s new youth culture with a retro-futuristic aesthetic, and Weinsanto, the eponymous line by Paris-based Victor Weinsanto, is influenced by retrofuturistic and cabaret themes.
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Rooted in arts and crafts style and the “Americana spirit of Venice Beach,” Eli Russell Linnetz’ ERL line is both unisex and casual, dealing in colorful, cozy pieces for summer—a contrast with Liberal Youth Ministry, a Guadalajara-based label by Antonio Zaragoza that enmeshes the designer’s personal experiences with ‘80s and ‘90s pop culture with influences from film and music. Berlin-based, American-born brand HFD, designed by DJ Honey Dijon, references the New York City club and fashion cultures of the late ‘70s and early ‘90s through bold graphics and “maxed-out” color ways, while Youths in Balaclava, made by a collective of 13 Singaporean designers, merges social commentary with irreverent self-expression.
According to Nordstrom, each label will showcase a variety of women’s, men’s and gender-neutral apparel styles and accessories, with price points ranging from $30 to $1,645. The curated edit’s physical presence in the Space concept shops was conceptualized by artist and furniture designer Marc Hundley, who has also worked with the Nordstrom team to create a physical and digital zine that introduces the project to shoppers. “We are excited to bring this partnership to life by introducing these unique brands through a compelling visual story telling experience both in-store and online,” Kim said.
“It is so exciting to have these seven wonderfully creative and diverse talents introduced to the world of Nordstrom,” James Gilchrist, vice president of Comme des Garçons North America and Dover Street Market North America said. “We are thrilled to once again be working with our long-term partners Olivia Kim and the team at Nordstrom on the launch of all seven DSMP brands in their Space.”