Standing at the corner of Lexington Avenue and East 30th Street, Dover Street Market New York (DSMNY), a high-end retail branch of Rei Kawakubo’s international fashion empire, counters basically everything I expect from a fashion boutique. Words like timeless and classical would do a just description of the building based on its temple-like facade. However, a wild fashion experiment, or “beautiful chaos” in Karakubo’s words, is actually going on underneath the surface. Together with five other stores around the globe (London, Tokyo, Singapore, Beijing, and L.A.), DSM has won a sterling reputation among fashion buyers with its consistent pursuit of creating unconventional adventures in retail.
There are seven floors above ground plus a basement inside of the DSMNY. A stunning glass elevator services all floors, while stairs are located in two wings of the building. What initially stole my attention was a series of columns posed from the ground floor to the sixth. A colorful column decorated with knitted yarn on the ground floor is a delicate piece by artist Magda Sayeg. “Yarn bombing,” as this new wave of street art has been dubbed, brings a sense of warm and fuzzy to an otherwise proto-modern surroundings. London Fieldworks, an art practice founded by artist Bruce Gilchrist and Jo Joelson in 2000, and artist Leo Sewell also participated in designing the columns. The columns crafted by Fieldworks are covered with varying wood blocks while Sewell’s work is characterized by piecing together objects including skis and stickers for the surface of his columns. Columns, however, function more than eye-catching decorations in the store. Instead, their significance as the versatile linkage between the store’s sections is too important to ignore. For instance, a tunnel-shaped stairway connecting the second and third floors presents another innovative attempt of reconstructing the space. This so-called “Biotopological Scale-Juggling Escalator” made by the visionary artist Madeline Gins highlights the playful use of architectural language within DSMNY.
With about 20 different brands being featured on most floors, DSMNY is very ambitious in terms of mixing up a variety of brands as well as tailoring unique showrooms for each one of them. While wooden Norman arches over COMME des GARÇONS Homme Deux’s suits and shirts address a vibe of gentlemanlike steadiness, oversized jackets of CDG celebrate the graphic-focused spirit with brand logos flooding all over the background wall. Mix Matching works of marquee brands like Gucci and Balenciaga with emerging designers further emphasizes DSMNY’s acknowledgement to authentic fashion ideas. A good storytelling of designs, after all, speaks for itself.
Like many top-notch boutiques, DSMNY has an excellent team of staff who come in handy whenever you have questions. One thing that singles them out is the DSMNY’s openness to their staff’s personal dressing style. No business casual or in-store-brand’s clothing is needed. Employees there are simply encouraged to wear whatever makes them feel comfortable and special. It’s probably due to this liberal culture that the staff of DSMNY tend to pass on the warmth and respect they receive to their customers. Chatting with staff there is quite joyful in a sense that you feel like you are talking to a sincere friend who happens to have a good eye for fashion. Considerate customer service can be found in the cozy cafe, Rose Bakery, on the ground floor as well. This small cafe is just the place to get refreshed with an inviting carrot cake, or just the spot to enjoy a drink and an intimate conversation.
The faith in art for art’s sake, in my opinion, has been well revered and practiced in the DSMNY where each design stands out for its artistic brilliance and uncommercial intrinsic part. More importantly, individuality plays a more important role than fashion trends when it comes to both arranging designs in store and contextualizing them within customers’ day-to-day lives. In DSMNY, it all comes down to discover a new side of you.
Photographer Credit: Adrian Wilson courtesy of DSMNY
