DALLAS — Michael Kors’ spin on casual luxury has arrived at NorthPark Center here in a new 2,000-square-foot store.
“Even heiresses need T-shirts,” Kors said at the opening Friday of his first freestanding unit here and the fourth in his retail chain. Other shops are in Manhattan, Beverly Hills and Manhasset, N.Y.
The store is merchandised with almost 80 percent accessories and 20 percent fashion items culled from all Kors’ lines, including accessories from Kors’ Collection label, Michael Michael Kors and Kors Michael Kors: sunglasses, fragrances, small leather goods, luggage, handbags, belts and shoes.
There is little ready-to-wear, but instead a blend of seasonal fashion items, some designed specifically for Dallas, like cropped knit tops and a range of shoes and handbags.
The result is price points ranging from $24 for a ribbed tank top to $12,000 for a crocodile handbag. It’s a template for future stores in select markets, said Kors, who said demographics and shopping patterns help determine whether to open rtw stores like the one here.
A lifestyle store similar to the unit here is to open in The Westchester in White Plains, N.Y., on Aug. 22.
“The NorthPark Center store is the first store I’ve done that’s focusing so much on easy, clean and elegant lifestyle dressing with items from my different lines. The stores in Manhattan, Beverly Hills and Manhasset are mostly ready-to-wear,” Kors said. “The fashion items and accessories in Dallas can be worn alone, or mixed and matched for an outfit. It’s also the way I dress personally.”
The store is projected to generate sales of at least $1,000 per square foot, said John Idol, chief executive officer of Michael Kors Inc.
Kors’ history with Dallas dates to the mid-Eighties, when he staged trunk shows at the Gazebo, a high-end designer boutique that has since closed. The store was owned by Shelle Bagot, vice president and general manager of the Neiman Marcus flagship downtown.
“This Dallas store is perfect for dressing what’s now become generations of customers, including teens who are being introduced to my lines by their mothers and grandmothers,” Kors said. “And the store is also a place for aspirational designer shoppers who normally couldn’t afford my ready-to-wear, but can start out with a handbag, belt, shoes or sunglasses.”
Related Articles
You May Also Like
Customers stood in line starting at 8 a.m. Friday; among them was Cheryl Jackson, 37, who was dressed head to toe in Michael Kors.
“I share Michael’s fashion vision of clean and sophisticated luxury that’s not too stuffy or pretentious,” she said.
Kors also introduced a monogrammed 12-piece travel collection here that retails from around $30 for a wallet to $450 for a weekend tote bag.
“We’ll be adding to the travel collection and also integrating the monogram into other categories,” Kors said.
The entrance to the store is a veritable fashion runway with two 10-foot illuminated Lucite tables aligned and leading to a giant video screen that shows Kors’ latest collections. The tables feature many of the fashion items seen on the video.
The unit reflects Kors’ clean-lined fashion aesthetic and features a brushed steel and matte stone exterior, polished white marble floors, white fabric-covered walls and Lucite shelves.