Cole Haan is looking to the future, and it’s doing so from new Manhattan offices at 45 West 18th Street.
The firm has moved its design, retail and marketing and merchandising headquarters into a 37,000-square-foot space, quadruple the size of its former home at 680 Fifth Avenue.
Gordon Thompson 3rd, Cole Haan’s executive vice president and creative director, rolled out the red — or, rather, beige — carpet for the move, tricking out the new digs with Knoll furniture, a Lightolier chandelier from the Fifties, Sixties-era cane-back chairs by Edward Wormley and a cabinet by Tommi Parzinger, among other eclectic objects. The walls are covered in custom-designed wallpaper featuring oversize paisley swirls. The warm color palette is in browns, creams and mossy greens. Key additions include a library that is chock-full of fashion and design books. Thompson’s goal: to provide the perfect environment in which the firm can mature.
Cole Haan was founded in 1928 in Chicago by Trafton Cole and Eddie Haan as a men’s footwear label and has expanded its business, adding ladies’ footwear in the Eighties and handbags in 2000, as well as outerwear, small leather goods and cold-weather accessories that same year. A knitwear collection and ready-to-wear line may be next.
With the backing of parent Nike Inc., Cole Haan intends to add 35 to 40 stores in the U.S. in the next five years, bringing the chain’s total to 85 to 90 units in this country. Over the same period, it is looking to enlarge its international business, which includes five freestanding stores and 30 in-store shops, all in Japan. And that’s not all. On May 15, the firm welcomes Jim Seuss, a former Harry Winston president, as chief executive officer.
Here, Thompson, a onetime corporate vice president of design and global creative director of Nike, and the designer behind all three Niketown emporiums in New York, Chicago and Las Vegas, sits down with WWD and tells us why, amid all this excitement, there may be no place like the office.
WWD: Why did Cole Haan decide to give up its former space last November?
Gordon Thompson: We were bursting at the seams. We’re growing from a business and a personnel standpoint. The new space gives us the chance and the room to focus on design, merchandising and marketing all under one roof. It’s amazing what space and a new vibe can do.
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WWD: How is it different from the former space?
G.T.: I designed those offices [almost] six years ago, when I came over from Nike. The last five to six years have been a lot about learning and experimenting and getting the business organization correct. As a designer, you morph your ideas into combining all that learning into the look, feel and style [of the brand]. It’s been a natural progression for me creatively.
WWD: What was your objective in designing the new space?
G.T.: You spend a lot of time in the office working, at night and on the weekend. I want people to feel that it’s not just a job. It’s like coming to your second house. There are antiques, a communal dining room and a library that people are really using. It’s amazing what architecture can do for people. There has been an incredible boost of creativity. People are happy and inspired.
WWD: What are some other goals with the new Manhattan headquarters?
G.T.: We have a design studio that is now divided into handbags and footwear workrooms that can open up to a large space. We’re planning on using it for fashion shows, and presentations to editors and retailers. We have full technical capabilities with music, lighting and AV.
I like salon shows, where we have people on our own turf, in our own environment, so they can get our whole vibe. It’s a nod toward the future.
WWD: How is Cole Haan changing?
G.T.: We’re trying to make a cohesive story of the product line, taking the shoes, bags and coats and putting them into a rich, artisanal feel, with sexiness and an interesting edge. We want to excite our current customers and entice a new, younger one, too.
WWD: For fall, you incorporated Nike Air technology into pumps and other high-heeled shoes and boots. That will make lots of women happy.
G.T.: [This is the first time we are incorporating] Nike Air. This air bag from Nike is very specific to low-profile sports like golf, soccer, football, baseball and sports that require an athlete to be on the field or grass. The [technology] is called Zoom Air and Cole Haan commissioned Nike in 1992 to do some research on [putting it in shoes], but to date, this is the first time we have ever done it in a heel. They’re sort of state-of-the-art high heels.
WWD: What is the fall collection about for you?
G.T.: The line is broken into two stories. One story is the combination of equestrian and military. This is taking the warmer palette of amber, browns, olives and purples and creating a modern take on the Seventies and Eighties. The other story is the chic interpretation of the Eighties — “American Psycho” and “The Hunger” were references — and it’s all about black. The agenda here was material mixing to create variations of shades and tones of black: black velvet mixed with black vachetta leather, black grain mixed with black fur, black chiffon mixed with a flat black wool.
WWD: Are you looking to expand into new categories?
G.T.: We’ve had such an incredible success with our outerwear that it makes me confident that our brand can extend beyond shoes and bags. We’re really discovering the brand’s elasticity.
WWD: You met Jim Seuss early on in the interview process. What about him impressed you?
G.T.: I met Jim back in September, and was really impressed with several things. His experience is vast and unique: international, retail, wholesale, luxury positioning, etc. In speaking with him, I thought he had the great ability to dive down into a situation while still understanding the big picture. I felt he respected design, understood how to work with a designer, and that, personally, I would learn from him. Something I always want to continue is to learn more. Also, the new ceo’s role is to make a world-class brand out of Cole Haan. I believe Jim has the leadership skills, the intellect and the enthusiasm and, above all, can command the respect internally and externally to achieve that goal.
WWD: Would you say the new office resembles your own home?
G.T.: Frankly, I have one look when it comes to interiors. Both spaces look just like that. It’s eclectic and warm, with a lot of light, air, color and texture. I like to be a familiar designer, taking familiar things and making them modern.
WWD: You live down the block, so the move has certainly shortened your commute. That must be a plus.
G.T.: Some say it’s good and bad … The distance between home and office may not be long enough. I need to walk around the block a few times, and then go home.
It feels like a new day, though. We’re at a new point in time.
This article appeared in WWD Accessories Supplement, a special publication of WWD available to subscribers.