The revamped space is host to 15 designer shop-in-shops and includes 23 new brands
Saks Fifth Avenue has unveiled a newly revamped men’s advanced designer and contemporary floor at its Fifth Avenue flagship store in Manhattan.
The 3,716-square-metre space on the seventh floor of the retailer’s landmark flagship has been completely transformed with 15 designer shop-in-shops and the addition of 23 new brands to the store.
A redesigned aisle path extends the entire floor, improving sight lines and flow of shopping experience. New flooring and lighting help draw the eye all the way to the retailer’s Fifth Avenue-facing windows, which have been opened up to let natural light create a much airier seventh floor.
“I’m extremely excited about the openness and brightness of this floor,” says Louis DiGiacomo, Saks’ Men’s senior vice president and general merchandise manager. “It’s the first thing you notice when you come off the elevator.”
DiGiacomo pointed out that this new layout, which sees the perimeter of the floor lined with designer shop-in-shops, allows the retailer to show the full lifestyle and breadth of their brand partners’ collections. Additional shops are located in the centre, and take up a more condensed footprint.
New shop-in-shops can be seen from Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Balmain, Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Celine, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Givenchy, Gucci, Moncler, Palm Angels, Thom Browne, Valentino and Versace.
Some of the spaces are brand new to the country. “We have Celine’s first shop-in-shop in the United States dedicated to Celine Homme,” DiGiacomo said. “We also have Palm Angels first men’s shop-in-shop in the US as well as Balmain’s first men’s shop-in-shop in the US featuring the brand’s new global concept.”
Other highlights include Alexander McQueen’s first concept designed by creative director Sarah Burton—in partnership with Chilean architect Smiljan Radic; Balenciaga’s first shop to reflect the brand’s new “Raw Architecture” concept; and Burberry’s first concept shop in New York City reflecting the design of the brand’s Sloane Street flagship store in London.
Additional shops from Dior, Louis Vuitton, Off-White and Saint Laurent Paris will open by the end of the year, DiGiacomo added.
Closer to the retailer’s Fifth Avenue windows, Saks has created an area with which it will highlight its new brands to the floor. These newly added advance contemporary brands include Blk Dnm, Frame, Jil Sander, June79, JW Anderson, Maison Margiela, Martine Rose, Moussy, Nahmias, Nanushka, Wales Bonner, Who Decides War and NSF.
Additional brands being added to the floor in spring 2023, DiGiacomo said, are Bode, Comme des Garçons Homme, Dickies, Drôle de Monsieur, Junya Watanabe, Sacai, Sky High Farm Workwear and Undercover.
In addition to the new brands, other design elements refresh the space. In the centre of the floor is a blackened metal and stone staircase, highlighted with dichroic glass, which connects the sixth and seventh floors. “Now, our two men’s floors feel like their own store within this larger flagship. Customers are loving it, and shopping both floors while they’re here,” DiGiacomo said.
Asked if consumer traffic has returned to Fifth Avenue, DiGiacomo said the retailer is seeing it increase over time. “We’re getting a new customer—a younger, more fashion-forward customer, too,” he said. “This is why we are aiming to have a strong fashion point of view. But, at the same time, we’re also seeing a big return to our core customer. Especially now that he’s back in the office, he’s travelling both for work and personal reasons and he’s out at events. He’s back at Saks.”
This latest revamped floor at Saks is part of the retailer’s US$250 million renovation plan that had begun rolling out before the pandemic. In Feb. 2019, Saks opened its new main floor which saw a brand new handbag destination. In July that same year, Saks opened a new men’s shoe floor. This was the first time men’s footwear was offered in one location, with more than 60 brands within a 743-square-metre space. And, in March 2020, the luxury department store unveiled a revamped women’s shoe floor.
Looking ahead, DiGiacomo teased that the perimeter shops of its men’s shoe floor will get a facelift in 2023.
This article was first published on Robb Report USA
