One day you’re in and the next you’re out — or so a conundrum of the fashion industry goes. It’s a punishing world for many, but revered Comme des Garçons mastermind Rei Kawakubo and her global empire of high-concept Dover Street Market shops not only embrace change — they propel it.
Kawakubo (whose current NYC exhibition at the Met’s Costume Institute has been grabbing Instagram likes all summer) unveiled her first New York emporium in 2013 to great fanfare.
She personally designed the eclectic common spaces spread across its 20,000-square-foot, seven-story digs in Murray Hill and has stocked them with her own CDG wares, along with exclusive pieces from the likes of Rick Owens, Thom Browne and Balenciaga (not to mention a Fendi pop-up that will arrive in September), plus those of rare, cult-status labels — all drawn in by her elusive, iconic fashion clout.
Twice a year, each DSM outpost (from the original in London to the latest in Singapore) closes for a major makeover of interiors and a rotation of designer offerings, a process it calls “New Beginning.” But New York’s shop has just undergone the most extensive transformation of all, debuting an entirely new basement floor.
Beneath ground-level projects by Kawakubo and jeweler Delfina Delettrez awaits a 3,000-square-foot trove of treasures, filled with lesser-known labels and hard-to-come-by finds.
A designated T-shirt space displays actual skater apparel, slyly slipped in between designer-distressed tees. Racks are hung with Noon Goons, Ashley Williams and Gosha Rubchinskiy — youth-hero designers from all corners of the globe. Nearby, the sneaker offerings — like much of the store itself — are never quite the same.
Constantly in flux, styles debut (and then fly off the shelves) before you’ve even heard of them.
Upstairs, the store has also been revamped and reimagined, leaving larger dedicated spaces for its most important (and hyped) brands, along with new entrants to the stock list, including Lucas Ossendrijver’s menswear for Lanvin and looks from British cult-favorite designer Martine Rose.
Of course, Gucci (under creative director Alessandro Michele) still reigns supreme on the penthouse level. Michele’s alluring floral-dotted babydoll dresses and shiny satin shawls (among other Dover Street-only Gucci offerings) sit beside limited editions of “Hortus Sanitatis” (a new book from the fashion house by photographer Derek Ridgers). Nearby, clever creations by Vetements and carefully crafted eyewear from Dita dazzle.
Meanwhile, floors below, paint-splashed walls and severe, concrete-like blocks — designed by artist Sterling Ruby — decorate Calvin Klein’s brand-new space, which features creative director Raf Simons’ debut collection. Steps away, a temporary installation by Melitta Baumeister resembles a fashionable gym, with the buzzy German designer’s work hanging atop weightlifting racks and benches.
Outside the store, as always, DSM-obsessed buyers wait patiently in line, ready to pounce on whatever gems have just arrived. It’s an energy that both enlivens the store and ensures it will never settle down. (As if that were possible.)