NEW YORK — When Onward Kashiyama launched the Nave collection in September, the concept was simple: Design a collection as a retailer would stock a store. In essence, only carry merchandise designed by the best in each category.
Now Nave is embarking on its own retail expansion with the Feb. 11 opening of its first freestanding boutique at 159 Mercer Street here. The 1,800-square-foot store will feature the complete spring and summer sportswear, outerwear and accessories collections designed by Richard Chai, the brand’s consulting creative director, plus other merchandise designed by seven of Nave’s collaborating designers.
“The brand and the concept is very unique and special and everything in the store is custom-made and special,” said Hiroaki Sumi, president and chief executive officer of Onward Retail LLC, the U.S. division of Onward Kashiyama.
Perhaps Sumi was speaking of the store wall that is entirely covered in steel, inspired by the art called Edo Kiriko, the traditional Japanese glass etching technique that dates to the early 1800s. Or maybe it is the floor-to-ceiling circular clothing racks set in the center of the store. The interior, like the collection, is inspired by a mixture of ideas and designs.
Key pieces from the spring collection include a lavender print cocktail dress by Rohka, a contemporary collection based in Milan; a linen eyelet dress designed by Chai, and linen woven tops designed by Borne, a contemporary collection based here. The retail price range of Nave is $50 to $500.
Designs by collaborating designers, Stacey Bendet, founder and designer of Alice + Olivia, and New York-based shirt designer Steven Alan, will be sold exclusively at department stores in Japan, but will not retail at the Nave boutique in SoHo. Nave will hit stores in Japan in March.
Sumi is anticipating a retail volume of about $2 million in the SoHo store’s first year. The line is being shown to buyers for the first time, so Sumi sees the store as an extension of the brand’s marketing.
“This is still an unknown collection,” Sumi said. “This store is good for building an image. We’re trying to get recognized.”
In addition to the boutique, which was designed by Takuya Takatsu of the Tokyo-based architectural firm Beaks Planners, Nave is kicking off its first advertising campaign in the February issues of magazines such as Figaro and Spur Japan and March books of Elle, BlackBook, Gotham and Interview. Television commercials will start airing on Japanese TV in mid-February. The ads target Nave’s core consumer or, as Sumi puts it, “Fashion-forward ladies in their 20s to 40s who are always looking for something new.”
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“And,” he added, “women who just know how to wear it.”