Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1110880
67 F orty Five Ten's new Hudson Yards store turns heads as much for its cutting-edge interiors as for its compelling roster of designer and vintage goods. The fifth-floor emporium has four distinct storefronts, each artfully orchestrated as a team effort between New York and Dallas architecture and design firms. The innovative glass-brick façade — which appears as if blocks of ice have melted away to reveal hyper-cool interiors beyond — was conceived by experimental design lab Snarkitecture. Dallas-based 5G Studio Collaborative realized the wall's complicated technical aspects, along with much of the store's interior architecture and furnishings. From the fashion to the interiors, Forty Five Ten's president and chief creative officer Kristen Cole (a former New Yorker FORTY FIVE TEN THE CONSERVATORY T wo years after parting ways with Forty Five Ten — the boutique Brian Bolke founded in Dallas in 2000, which was subsequently bought by Headington Companies — the retail genius is at it again. His new concept, The Conservatory, opened in March to wide acclaim in New York's buzzing Hudson Yards. Vogue called it "a sea change, a true tipping point, for retail." Designed by Dallas–based Droese Raney Architecture, the store is a testament to all that is organic, thought- ful, and naturally beautiful — "considered luxury," as Bolke refers to it. "It speaks to no particular time or style," he says. "I think it will age well." What's inside is game-changing in the retail sphere, acting more as a showroom of sorts, staged with items ranging from fashion to jewelry, apothecary to gifts and home design objects. "The store transacts solely on a website," Bolke explains. "There are things in the store the customer can take with them ... But the concept is really about being a gallery to touch and try before you buy online." For fashion, the store is focused on lesser-known designers with an eye toward sustainability. Here, trends need not apply (see: Narciso Rodriguez, Salle Privée, The Great Eros, Le Monde Beryl). The Conservatory's in-house art gallery's first show came by way of herself) and her husband, Joe Cole, a consultant for Headington Companies, each had a heavy hand and influence. Interior spaces feature retro-futuristic displays, including one for handbags and shoes that shimmers like a giant geode sliced in half. The store's vintage area has a happy Flintstones nostalgia, with floors and walls paved in chunky peach and blue terrazzo. In addition to Forty Five Ten's collections for men and women by designers Dries Van Noten, Balenciaga, and Celine, the store has vintage creations by Halston, Gaultier, and Chanel as part of Austin-based Archive Vintage's new presence in-store. There's a smattering of stocked home design from Entler Studio, Waka Waka, BZippy & Co., Bower Studios, and Pieces, along with art and design books and independent magazines. With Forty Five Ten outposts in Dallas, Napa, Aspen, and Miami, the new Hudson Yards location takes top marks in the realm of forward-thinking retail design. Forty Five Ten, 20 Hudson Yards, New York, fortyfiveten.com. Rebecca Sherman Forty Five Ten, Hudson Yards Forty Five Ten's glass brick façade photographer Ron Galella, a temporary installation by Staley-Wise Gallery. The store's restaurant, Teak Tearoom, is an oasis within the bustling development and includes confections by Bouchon Bakery, tea from Waris Ahluwalia, and a Casa Dragones tasting room, which is open at night by reservation only. Says Bolke of his near-future plans for The Conservatory: "The art and merchandising and storytelling are all intertwined. Summer is all about travel and escape, and fall is about m a x i m a l i s m through the lens of minimalism. It is going to be completely un- expected." The Conservatory, 20 Hudson Yards, 212.473.1333. Christina Geyer The Conservatory at Hudson Yards Vintage area at Forty Five Ten