Kazuyo Sejima was one of Derek Lam’s very first customers, and when the NY fashion designer decided to go ahead and commission the design for his very first boutique in New York, Sejima and his partner, Ryue Nishizawa quickly came up first on the list for his architect of choice. The store opened to the public last week and is set to be, according to Lam, “a sure step towards solidifying the brand’s identity”. With the Sanaa duo’s masterful hand behind the design, the brand has found its perfect architectural match.
See more images of the new Derek Lam store in NY
The store is situated on the ground floor of a 19th century old manufacturing building in lower SoHo. The architects chose to completely strip down the existing space to its bare bones, in order to create their vision of the brand’s flagship; a clean space, which would be simple, yet elegant and refined, corresponding Lam’s fashion and designs.
Custom-made wood and aluminium furniture was fitted in the space, as were four clear acrylic “bubbles” in the store’s main hall. The transparent organic forms are spread across the display area, and create sub-spaces within the large store’s main room, showcasing the designer’s lines, in clothing and accessories; while one of them can be separated visually from the rest, closed off with bright golden-coloured fabric for extra privacy and special occasions.
For the walls, the architects kept the original building’s brick, but painted them white; combined with the transparent central forms and the light reflecting on the walls and the acrylic, they make a subtle contrast to the store’s concrete grey floor.
Calm and minimal, and with attention to detail and carefully selected materials, the store is the ideal environment for the fashion designer’s creations, and is also Sanaa’s first New York realisation since their recent wallpaper* award-winning New Museum’s opening, about a year ago (w* 107).
ADDRESS
10 -12 Crosby St
New York
-
A brutalist garden revived: the case of the Mountbatten House grounds by Studio Knight StokoeTour a brutalist garden redesign by Studio Knight Stokoe at Mountbatten House, a revived classic in Basingstoke, UK
-
Wallpaper* checks in at the refreshed W Hollywood: ‘more polish and less party’The W Hollywood introduces a top-to-bottom reimagining by the Rockwell Group, capturing the genuine warmth and spirit of Southern California
-
Book a table at Row on 5 in London for the dinner party of dreamsRow on 5, located on the storied Savile Row, emerges as a perfectly tailored fit for fans of fine dining
-
‘If someone says no, you’re talking to the wrong person’: how make-up artist Marcelo Gutierrez created his own universe in New YorkFresh from publishing his first book ‘Nothing Precious’, Marcelo Gutierrez speaks with Mary Cleary about his friends, collaborators and making it as a young creative in New York City
-
Olfactory Art Keller: the New York gallery exhibiting the smell of vintage perfume, blossoming lilacs and last night’s shameOlfactory Art Keller is a Manhattan-based gallery space dedicated to exhibiting scent as art. Founder Dr Andreas Keller speaks with Lara Johnson-Wheeler about the project, which doesn’t shy away from the ‘unpleasant’
-
Kohler plunges into the world of wellness with an ice bath for your homeKohler has teamed up with Remedy Place to design an ice bath for the home, marking the brand’s first move into the wellness space
-
‘Remembering without nostalgia’: Giorgio Armani presents his S/S 2025 collection in New YorkGiorgio Armani returned to New York for his S/S 2025 show, which coincided with the opening of a flagship boutique on Madison Avenue
-
Discothèque perfumes evoke the scent of Tokyo in the year 2000As Discothèque gets ready to launch its first perfume collection, Mary Cleary catches up with the brand’s founders
-
Fashion’s favourite bookstore, Climax, opens a ‘sexy, angry’ New York outpostWallpaper* catches up with Isabella Burley, founder of Climax, as she inaugurates a New York outpost of the cult bookstore and showcases a playful new collaboration with fashion label Chopova Lowena
-
Henry Zankov is the knitwear non-conformist making fashion’s favourite sweaters‘It's about pushing the boundaries of what knitwear can be,’ says Henry Zankov, whose exuberant New York-based label is already beloved by fashion insiders
-
New York Fashion Week S/S 2025 highlights: Tory Burch to Michael KorsWallpaper* fashion features editor Jack Moss selects the best of New York Fashion Week S/S 2025 in our ongoing round-up, from a reinvention of sportswear at Tory Burch to Michael Kors’ Italian escape
