LOS ANGELES, Feb 2, 2008 / FW/ — Pop-up stores, now you see them, now you don’t. A kind of guerilla marketing that was made popular by Commes des Garcons and Junya Watanabe, young designers favored it because of its edgy feel and a certain frenzy that goes with it because their fans know that the store will not be there forever.
Just in time for the New York fashion season, New Zealand-based designer Karen Walker opened a pop-up store last Friday, Feb 1 in New York’s East Village.
Made possible in collaboration with the Big Apple’s innovative concept shop, Den, Eddy Chai and Paul Birardi, owners of Den and Katie Lockheart, Karen Walker’s interior designer worked together to re-create the Karen Walker signature look for the pop-up store.
Walker’s clothing, eyewear and fine jewelry ranges will take over the space for three months. The Den will exclusively host a full range of styles and colors of Walker’s overwhelmingly popular, sold out Eyewear collection, in addition to the Karen Walker Jewelry collection and will be the only store in America to offer the full range of Karen Walker’s stand out “Lucky” Spring/Summer 2008 collection featuring floaty floral tea dresses along with her coveted denim.
“We are thrilled to have been asked by Odin to open a Karen Walker pop-up shop in New York. We already have a strong presence in the New York market, since we show at NY Fashion Week each season, and this is an exciting way to bring the brand to another level there,” the New Zealand-native commented.
Den is the third store to be opened by Eddy Chai and Paul Birardi, who own the successful Odin menswear boutiques in Manhattan. Den opened six months ago next door to the original Odin boutique in the East Village.
Since opening the first Odin store in 2004, Odin has garnered the highest accolades such as being selected as one of GQ magazine’s top 100 stores, DNR’s top 50 Most Influential Retailers, along with being voted New York magazine’s best men’s boutique.
Den re-invents itself every two to three months as a temporary flagship boutique for growing brands in search of a place to showcase their full collections. Cheap Monday, Rag and Bone and Tim Hamilton were the first brands to be featured in Den and next on the agenda is Robert Geller of Cloak.
Den is located at 330 E. 11th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue and more information can be found at www.dennewyork.com.
For more information about Karen Walker:
www.karenwalker.com
www.karenwalkereyewear.com
www.karenwalkerjewelry.com
[HEIDE WINKENWERDER]
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