Kith Women Flagship in Soho combines walnut and pink marble
CategoriesInterior Design

Kith Women Flagship in Soho combines walnut and pink marble

American fashion brand Kith has returned to the location of its first Manhattan flagship to open a women-dedicated store, in which olive trees grow up through display podiums.

The inaugural Kith Women Flagship in Soho opened last December at 644 Broadway, the same historic landmark building where the brand debuted its Manhattan retail offering in 2011.

Custom-built walnut podiums with olive trees growing through the centreCustom-built walnut podiums with olive trees growing through the centre
Custom-built podiums run through the middle of the Kith Women flagship store in Soho

Previously the Manhattan Savings Institute Bank, the red sandstone and brick structure’s exterior features wrought iron gates at the entrance and set the tone for the materials palette inside.

Kith founder and creative director Ronnie Fieg designed the interiors to include signature elements of the brand’s retail concepts, but with adjustments to acknowledge its context.

Kith Women store with apparel and accessories displayed in walnut and brass-trimmed nichesKith Women store with apparel and accessories displayed in walnut and brass-trimmed niches
The main room displays apparel and accessories in walnut and brass-trimmed niches

“The ambiance exudes modern elegance with its warm and calming aura, constructed with materials like Venetian plaster, travertine, and rosa aurora [marble],” said the Kith team.

The spacious main room benefits from tall ceilings and an open floor plan, and presents Kith Women in-house and multi-brand ready-to-wear apparel against Venetian plaster and Kith monogrammed suede wallpaper.

Footwear room with shoes presented on travertine shelvesFootwear room with shoes presented on travertine shelves
In a room dedicated to footwear, shoes are presented on travertine shelves

Clothing is displayed on rails installed in walnut and brass-trimmed niches around the perimeter, with accessories like hats and bags placed on shelves above.

A row of square walnut podiums runs through the middle of the room, each with an olive tree growing up through the centre of its pink marble surface.

A cafe and flower shop featuring mosaic floors and a fluted marble service counterA cafe and flower shop featuring mosaic floors and a fluted marble service counter
A cafe and flower shop is run in partnership with PlantShed, and features mosaic floors and a fluted marble service counter

Custom-built by Brooklyn-based woodworker Mark Jupiter, these units contain drawers for product storage, and alternating ones are topped with glass vitrines for showcasing jewellery and other small accessories.

Oak flooring is laid in a grid pattern transversed by walnut strips, and the darker wood also lines the fitting rooms.

Footwear has a dedicated room, in which shoes are displayed on shelves with integrated lighting that run from one end to the other.

“Entering the footwear space, you will find a grand arched plaster ceiling, travertine shelves, and a custom chandelier from Italy by Viabizzuno,” the team said.

Cafe in a courtyard behind historic wrought iron gatesCafe in a courtyard behind historic wrought iron gates
The cafe leads out to a courtyard behind the historic building’s wrought iron gates

In the final room is a cafe run in partnership with New York-based flower and plant shop PlantShed, which serves light bites and drinks and offers custom floral arrangements.

The space features a mosaic tiled floor, walnut wall panelling, a service counter with a fluted pink marble front and floral displays on stepped stone plinths.

The cafe leads out to a courtyard area behind the building’s impressive iron gates, which furnished with cafe tables and chairs in between topiary plants shaped into spirals.

Exterior view of red sandstone building at 644 BroadwayExterior view of red sandstone building at 644 Broadway
Kith Women is located at 644 Broadway, the same building where the brand opened its original flagship retail space in 2011

Feig also designed Kith’s recently opened Williamsburg store, located in the 25 Kent Plaza office building where the brand also has its corporate offices.

The company had previously worked with design studio Snarkitecture on its retail spaces around the world, including outposts in Miami, Los Angeles and Paris.

The photography is courtesy of Kith.

Reference

Kith creates “industrial ambiance” for its Williamsburg store
CategoriesInterior Design

Kith creates “industrial ambiance” for its Williamsburg store

American clothing brand Kith has created a flagship store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, that uses brick, wood and steel to reference the industrial history of the neighbourhood.

Designed by Kith‘s founder Ronnie Fieg and the brand’s in-house team of architects, the Williamsburg location is located in the Gensler-designed 25 Kent Plaza office building, where Kith also has its corporate offices.

Kith Williamsburg
Kith designed a store for its apparel in Williamsburg

The design takes elements that carry through some of the other Kith stores, such as marble finishes and metal fins, and adds details that situate it in the context of Williamsburg.

These include a massive circular structure at the heart of the store that is covered with red brick on the outside and lined with white oak inside. The piece was custom-made at a nearby, undisclosed wood workshop.

Kith Williamsburg
It features a central structure made of brick and wood

This central element has a domed wooden ceiling with a wooden column and circular light fixtures that radiate out towards the edges concentrically.

A number of sloping arched voids in the structure have metal-lined undersides and provide an entryway on two sides and display cases for the brand’s collection of sneakers on another.

“We constructed the central dome completely from scratch and created the exterior from the same exact bricks used on the outside of the main building so it feels very cohesive as you enter,” said Fieg.

“Every inch of that dome is custom which meant our precision down to the last minute detail was crucial.”

“Outfitting the interior with rounded wood panels, shaping the footwear shelves to sit flush within the windows, every detail was poured over.”

Kith polished concrete floor
It steps down from an outdoor plaza

Outside the circular area, the lights radiate perpendicularly, like sun rays, towards the walls.

The perimeter of the store is lined with metal fins that block the sun from the glass-lined eastern exposure while also creating a massive logo when viewed from outside.

Also lining the perimeter of the store are custom wooden clothing racks.

Mosiac in polished concrete flooring
A custom mosaic was placed in the floor

Polished concrete flooring runs through the space, which steps down from the public plaza at the centre of 25 Kent.

The designers oriented the entrance towards the plaza and placed garden boxes in the corners of the store to better connect it with the public space outside.

Marble snack bar
Marble clads the snack bar

“The industrial ambiance is balanced with lush oak trees outside, and an abundance of greenery spread throughout the store,” the brand said.

The Kith Treats Area at the entrance – where a combination of ice cream and cereal are served – was lined with Rosa Aurora marble and has a to-go window that opens up to the plaza.

Wooden dome inside Kith store
The wooden elements were custom made nearby

A wall of stainless steel panels separates the treats area from the retail space, while the walls opposite the street-facing glass are matte concrete with wooden insets for further display and service areas.

On the floor, Kith installed a brand logo made of mosaic tiles.

It is the third store in New York City for the brand, which was founded in 2011, and creates apparel for men, women and children.

To celebrate the opening, the brand launched a sneaker with footwear companies Clarks and Adidas.

Gensler Williamsburg Kent
It is in a Gensler-designed building in Williamsburg

This is the twelfth store opened by Fieg, who moved to Williamsburg himself with his family in 2017, and the Kith headquarters there in 2021.

“The restaurants, the shops, the people, and the atmosphere make it a very special area in New York and were all factors in us moving our brand HQ there in 2021,” he said.

“It’s my home, our team’s home, and it only made sense for us to make it a home for our community.”

Many of Kith’s prior locations, in Miami and Los Angeles, for instance, were designed by designer Daniel Arsham and his studio Snarkitecture.

In both the Paris and original downtown Brooklyn locations, Kith installed chandeliers made up completely of Nike Air Max sneakers.

Reference