Issey Miyake is about to make a move onto Madison Avenue.
On May 8, the Japanese fashion brand will open a flagship at 45 Madison Avenue on the corner of 26th Street. The store will be located on the ground floor of the historic Cass Gilbert-designed New York Life Building and will span 13,000 square feet overlooking Madison Square Park.
The two-level space will be designed by New York-based architecture firm, Solid Objectives Idenburg Liu. At the center will be a transparent staircase constructed from large-format structural glass. Elements of the historic building’s Beaux-Arts structure have been exposed and are complemented by new custom aluminum and stainless-steel surfaces and fixtures.
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Expansive windows along three sides of the store let in natural light and provide views of the park and surrounding area.
A titanium panel is displayed within the space, a nod to the friendship between the late Frank Gehry and Issey Miyake, and glass wall panels from the company’s recently closed TriBeCa flagship have been transformed into tables for accessories and folded items.
At the rear of the store, a dedicated gallery space named Mado will host rotating exhibitions, brand collaborations and special projects throughout the year. Mado, which means “window” in Japanese, is the first gallery space within an Issey Miyake store outside Japan.
The store will carry the Issey Miyake, IM Men, 132 5., Homme Plisse, A-Poc Able, Me, HaaT and Good Goods lines in addition to fragrances, watches, eyewear and footwear.
To celebrate the opening, a selection of exclusive items will be available only at the Madison Avenue flagship. They will include Folding Coat, a limited-edition coat with a hand-pressed Rakkan artwork of Issey Miyake; Unbound Hat, a handmade piece created from abaca fiber, and Shade and Shaded_NY, a pleated collection consisting of two dresses, a skirt and a top. (Rakkan refers to the signature and/or seal applied to artwork by the artist to mark its completion, typically found on traditional Japanese paintings and calligraphy.)
To introduce the store to the public, a special campaign will be launched for the opening featuring the Shade and Shaded_NY dress and Folding Coat along with New York-specific images including an apple, a martini and a yellow taxi.
