We stopped by the French designer's newly-opened store this morning to get a peek at the new space's minimalist interior and plentiful spring merchandise.
Of course, the most fawned-over items in the store are Marant's much-coveted accessories, especially her boots: We spotted two particularly lust-worthy boots -- one the camouflage pair with fringe that was so visible on Marant's spring runway, and another knee-high style with plentiful buckles (all likely to sell ridiucously quickly). Both, of course, are over a thousand dollars, which brings us to a larger point: Isabel Marant's ready-to-wear collection is exceedingly expensive. To be fair, just touching some pieces makes one understand the price tags -- one metallic striped fabric is gossamer-thin and just gorgeous ... but it's still a pair of harem-like pants that cost $850. Likewise, a little lace dress is $745 and a pair of leather shorts are $1285.
Even if the lofty price tags might be hard for some to swallow, there's no denying the pieces are just gorgeous. The jackets, in particular -- embellished with tassels and gems at the collars -- could rival some of Soho neighbor Chanel's pieces, and will likely appeal to both the downtown-jeans and uptown-pencil skirt sets. In addition to the boots, the handbags are also likely to do particularly well for the brand, especially this studded messenger style ($950), which echoes the designer's sold-out studded ankle boots from a previous season.
The store also features some creative, pale woodworking -- most notably a large hive-like structure in the middle of the room for jewelry, along with some architecturally-arranged little wooden cubes lining the sides of the store. The woodwork echoes the store-within-a-store detailing at Jerome Dreyfuss next door -- likely no coincidence, considering the two happen to be married and opened their stores around the same time. They also worked with the same architect, Nicolas Andre, though as Marant told Style File, the two stores are actually "very different."
