Lights, Camera: Patricia Field Headlines New Store

NEW YORK — Patricia Field wasn’t in the mood for techno rock.

“You need to lower that music,” Field told an employee at her new store at 302 Bowery. “It’s too early in the morning.”

It was, in fact, 11:30 a.m. on Monday, but Field had celebrated the store’s opening at a party Sunday at Capitale and didn’t get home until 3 a.m. “Ugh, Red Bull,” she said, as she passed six-packs left over from the party. “All that sugar.”

The doyenne of nocturnal style, who is celebrating her 40th year in business, recently closed her store on West Broadway in anticipation of this new location, which opened Monday. Some people reaching that milestone would think about retiring. Field is taking on new challenges.

Wearing a black sleeveless turtleneck and tight white jeans, Field led a tour of the 4,000-square-foot store, beginning on the lower level, where lifestyle objects include mushroom-shape footstools, a ceramic vase shaped like three guns and Dirty Linen sheets with a toile de joie pattern of naked men.

Field has befriended many artists, including Keith Haring, whose products she sells. She pointed out paintings from her own collection, such as a nude by Martine with long blonde hair and conical breasts. A painting of Jacqueline Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Marilyn Monroe and Patricia Hearst was opposite the hair dryers in the salon.

“I wanted to give people something interesting to look at,” she said. “When I had my first store, on Eighth Street, Jean-Michel Basquiat did his first show there.”

It seems everything in the store has a story behind it. The walls on the main floor were covered with graffiti art by James de la Vega, who got creative with spray paint during a party Field threw at the store shortly after leasing it, while it was still empty. Field liked the murals so much, she had them covered with a pink glaze. An Oriental-looking arch at the entrance of the store made of wood covered by broken red tiles once belonged to Suzanne Bartsch, another nightlife denizen.

There are theatrical touches throughout — no surprise, given Field’s history in television and film. She was the costume designer for “Sex and the City” and the movie “The Devil Wears Prada.” The tall wooden screens in the dressing rooms came from the set of “Sex,” and white towers lit from within are from a “Devil” set.

In addition to the house brand — Field’s rhinestone-covered T-shirts, shoes and handbags — the store is a showcase for young designers who stop in with their collections. Field and her buyers also shop in Brazil because the clothing is suitably body-conscious for her customers. Long gauzy dresses by Brazilian label Collins come in different patterns, at $98. Field said she tries to keep prices affordable. For example, Diondega jump suits are $82, Rojas hoodie dresses, $112, and polkadot mini dresses by Cherish, $58. About the most expensive items are a shrug by OK Citizens Society for $240 and a rhinestone-encrusted swimsuit/dancing costume for $220. She is aiming for volume of $1 million to $2 million in the first year.

Co-branding projects with manufacturers is another way Field brings exclusive products to the store. With AS, she designed white jeans with a sprinkling of rhinestone grommets, and with Rocawear, a black T-shirt. “We co-brand anything we can,” she said. “Today, either you’re a big chain or an expensive store. You have to stay unique to survive. You have to keep moving.”

It is uncertain whether Field’s fans will move along with her to the Bowery. About 1,000 came out Sunday night to celebrate at Capitale. It was a typically eccentric Field crowd. Cody Ravioli and Connie Girl, stars of the drag and club scene, performed. Then a guy told Field he was a lariat thrower and wanted to perform. “I said sure,” Field said. “It was so funny.”