Brands descend on NYFW with new stores and pop-ups

Other brands are more focused on local New Yorkers from the outset; those who probably aren’t going to the shows, but for whom fashion week adds a buzzy backdrop. Eponymous designer Nili Lotan says the fashion week timing was happenstance, but notes that everyone has “flooded the city after summer travel and the cultural energy is high”. Lotan says she has lots of loyal brand fans in the downtown New York community. “The [opening] event is designed as a celebration for them.”

For Cecilie Bahnsen, it’s not about the fashion crowd at all — her goal is to tap “regular” direct-to-consumer shoppers, she says. “Of course, it’s amazing that we will have friends in town to stop by and visit us, but we really wanted to cater this pop-up to our local customers,” she explains.

Even those who are prioritising industry professionals for fashion week need to be thinking beyond them, Quillin flags, because they’re not going to be the ones making the majority of purchases. “It is about curating the live experience for IRL attendees and informing and inspiring people who aren’t invited and getting them to care about what the brand is doing,” she says.

This is the approach Axel Arigato is taking. The pull of NYFW is that there’s “a very important cross section of industry and consumer”, Johansson says. To this end, the Scandi brand is hosting a series of events, which don’t stop at the one dinner. Throughout September, the brand will host in-store activations including DJs, live performances, workshops and city-wide giveaways. “We want to make sure we aren’t focusing on just one event in the cultural calendar,” Johansson says.

The fashion week bump

To attract fashion week’s busy attendees, brands are zeroing in on their USPs. Whether it’s a limited-edition collab only available in-store, or added experiential perks, brands are getting creative to bring industry insiders — and consumers — through the door.

“Brands need to give them a unique reason to come into store — and a reason to remember the experience in a positive way,” Quillin says. She highlights Boucheron’s just-opened New York flagship. On 10 September, the French brand will host a cocktail party to celebrate, honouring its storied history with New York, titled ‘Boucheron in America: From Paris to New York, A Cutting Edge Journey Since 1858’.