NEW YORK CITY

RETAIL REPORT ,

MANOLO TAKES MADISON

Just in time for its 50th anniversary, the luxury shoemaker returns to New York City with a new uptown flagship

With a career spanning 50 years, Spanish-born Manolo Blahnik is one of the world’s most influential footwear designers. “Shoes help transform a woman,” he says. His designs and sketches have appeared in museum exhibitions and numerous books (the latest being 2017’s The Art of Shoes). He collaborated with director Sofia Coppola on the costumes for her 2006 film Marie Antoinette (the film went on to win the Academy Award for Best Costume Design). He’s also an Honorary CBE and has won awards like the Footwear News Lifetime Achievement Award and the British Fashion Council Outstanding Achievement Award. So, it was time for the designer to have a rich yet welcoming new New York City flagship that honors his creations and takes the brand forward. “New York has always evoked a great sense of excitement for me, a city of endless possibilities,” says Blahnik. “So, it is an honor for me to open on Madison Avenue, an exquisite location, which I remember fondly from our formative years.” We spoke with Kristina Blahnik, the founder’s niece and the company’s CEO, to learn more about this homecoming. manoloblahnik.com

What was special about this space? “Manolo’s very first store in America in the late 1970s was on Madison Avenue, so when we found this particular building, it felt like a true coming home. At the time of visiting the space it was two separate stores, so to be able to turn this magnificent double-fronted building from the 1920s back to single use was a unique opportunity. To also have our showroom and offices above means that this really is the beating heart of Manolo Blahnik in America.”

Manolo Blahnik slingbacks, $945 Ê FOR MORE NEW YORK CITY, VISIT DUJOUR.COM/CITIES

Who did you work with to bring this vision to life? “We worked with award-winning interior designer and friend of the brand David Thomas, whom we had previously worked with for our Paris boutique. David has a fantastic understanding of Manolo’s vision and cultural collages as well as the house values.”

What aesthetic were you going for with this project? “Our boutiques all have a one-of-a-kind aesthetic that reference the location and Manolo’s whimsical style. The New York boutique also takes on this approach and embodies Hollywood Regency, a theme that evokes grandeur and opulence but still has a sense of warmth and intimacy.”

What are your favorite design elements? “The striped double-height ceilings, which absolutely capture the Hollywood Regency feel. And, of course, there is the bar, as we wanted to create an area where visitors could socialize and congregate. Our first boutique in London’s Chelsea neighborhood became the hangout for Manolo and his friends, so we really wanted to inject a sense of this relaxing ambiance in New York.”

EAT HERE NOW

Saint Theo’s is a new coastal Italian-inspired restaurant from restaurateur Kyle Hotchkiss Carone’s Grand Tour Hospitality (American Bar, Café Clover) and developer Rob Goldman just opened in the West Village. Under the culinary direction of chef Carolina Santos-Neves and executive chef Ashley Rath, the menu is inspired by Venice and the Italian coast, highlighting fresh seafood and simple-yet-elevated housemade pastas. The vibrant 110-seat space, designed in collaboration with Martin Brudnizki, boasts an eclectic mix of vintage and modern design features including colorful Murano glass sconces and deep green linen banquettes. sainttheos.com

Chef Ayesha Nurdjaja, along with The Bowery Group’s Vicki Freeman and Marc Meyer, has just opened Shukette in Chelsea. The restaurant, with its open kitchen and 74 seats, allows her and her team to engage with diners more intimately over charcoal-grilled proteins, vegetable dishes, dips and bread made in house. These market-driven small plates include fetatoush with chickpea flaxseed crackers and stuffed grape leaves and are served alongside larger plates such as Joojeh chicken and Fish in a Cage. Designed by Peter Guzy of Guzy Architects, the bright, colorful space features a bustling open kitchen and cork walls accented with Mediterranean blue tile and pale saffron

yellow trim. shukettenyc.com

Junoon, the pioneering Michelin-starred Indian restaurant, has just reopened in a new space in Flatiron. Chef Akshay Bhardwaj is serving up a refreshed menu of innovative takes on classic Indian dishes, including smoked masala ribs, tandoori octopus, Tellicherry duck and more exciting offerings. Junoon’s cocktail program is equally exciting, leaning into Indian herbs, fruits and spices. junoonnyc.com

The new Dominique Ansel Workshop is a celebration of croissants just off Madison Square Park. From classic croissants (made with French Beurre d’Isigny and Les Grands Moulins de Paris flour) to varieties like olive oil (with cold-pressed olive oil, rosemary and confit garlic), multigrain, pain au chocolat, almond and others, the French pastry chef wanted to return to his roots by offering inventive twists on

classic doughs. dominiqueanselworkshop.com

Ê FOR MORE NEW YORK CITY, VISIT DUJOUR.COM/ CITIES

FROM TOP: Shukette; Saint Theo’s; snapper moilee at Junoon; Chef Dominique Ansel

EAT HERE NOW , TAKING UP RESIDENCE

From al fresco dinners held on the private terrace of a FiDi penthouse to intimate meals tucked away in a discreet East Village townhouse, rotating supper club startup Resident is curating exclusive culinary experiences in special residences across New York City. Founder Brian Mommsen has tapped rising star chefs from the best restaurants in the world to serve one-of-a-kind supper club–style dinners in spectacular spaces (prices start at $170 per person for a five-course tasting menu with wine pairings). Epicureans can indulge in intimate, communal dining events prepared by Michelin-starred chefs from the likes of Per Se and Eleven Madison Park while engaging in conversation with the host chefs as they tell the unique stories behind each course. meetresident.com

Nikos Koulis Feelings bangle, $4,410

Jennifer Shanker at Muse

Bea Bongiasca Pop choker, $900

Bea Bongiasca Flower Power hoops, $1,550 POWER PLAYER

Nikos Koulis Energy ring, $9,960

Nikos Koulis Oui Diamond Fringe earrings, $27,600

ROCKS ON HUDSON

Veteran jewelry expert Jennifer Shanker opens Muse, a boutique adjacent to her showroom in the West Village

Veteran jewelry expert Jennifer Shanker has opened a retail space adjacent to her West Village fine jewelry showroom, a mecca for talented, independent designers. The boutique of the same name, which has attracted visitors like Kacey Musgraves, Busy Philipps, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Jenny Mollen, showcases jewelry from hot designers like Nikos Koulis, Bea Bongiasca, Jemma Wynne, Silvia Furmanovich and Jenna Blake. “I wanted to provide a retail presence for the designers we represent while providing neighborhood residents a beautiful space for discovery,” says Shanker. “Retail had never been part of our plan, but it was a risk I’m glad we took.” The welcoming, casual retail space sells the breadth of Shanker’s multidesigner jewelry assortment alongside cashmere sweaters from Leret Leret, art by Ori Gersht, vases by Paul Arnhold, contemporary home goods from Lateral Objects by Stefan Beckman and books by jewelry experts like Stellene Volandes. “After 20 years in the very niche designer fine jewelry world, the addition of new categories is both refreshing and inspiring,” says Shanker. “Collaborating with creatives from candles to cashmere, vases to vessels and from fine jewelry to flowers, being surrounded by beauty arranged in our own unique way has provided a visibility we didn’t know we needed or wanted or would enjoy ever so much. It’s opened up a whole new world of opportunities, relationships and collaborations.”

The store has kept Shanker busy dreaming up merchandising and creative initiatives for her brands and her clients. On the occasion of her store opening, the entrepreneur curated the Have a Heart collection, a multidesigner charitable initiative. Every charm in this jewelry collection represents a heart or a star, and for each one sold at the store and online, the brand donates 10 percent of profits to charities near and dear to its heart. Shanker has surprised herself with how much she enjoys having the opportunity to interact with customers new and old. “The customer feedback we receive at the boutique is invaluable and helps us do our jobs better as a showroom, as we have first-hand feedback,” she says. “We learn so much about how people shop that really allows us to advise our designers in their process.” Plus, with so many empty storefronts in the West Village and the shuttering of downtown boutiques like Jeffrey, there weren’t many places to shop anymore. But now, she enthuses, “New York is back and it feels awesome.” We couldn’t agree more. musexmuse.com