The Designer Returns To Her Roots In Her Latest New York Venture
The opening of 151 Mercer Street, in New York City’s iconic SoHo neighborhood, marks Tory’s love of and commitment to the city, as well as a return to a downtown location. Tory moved to SoHo right after college and, in 2004, opened her first boutique a few blocks away from Mercer Street. The new location also reflects an evolution of the retail concept, while honoring the brand’s design codes and history of the neighborhood.
The new boutique offers the Tory Burch collection, including Home, the new 151 Mercer handbags and a series of limited-edition Lee Radziwill Double Bags, exclusive to this location.
I could not be more excited about our Mercer Street store. It is an evolution of our retail aesthetic, and I have loved the creative process, combining a modern space with signature decorative elements and details that are personal to me. The downtown location feels like a homecoming, just a five-minute walk from where we opened our first boutique on Elizabeth Street.
– Tory Burch, Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer
Chief Executive Officer Pierre-Yves Roussel added, “We believe in the strategic value of retail paired with our vibrant e-commerce channel. We want to continuously evolve our store experience and expand our omnichannel capabilities. We are excited for our customers to discover our storytelling and our beautiful products at Mercer Street. As a New York brand, we will be contributing to the local community through partnerships, events and donations – we are committed to playing our part in our city’s resurgence after an incredibly tough year.”
Created in partnership with Curiosity architect Gwenaël Nicolas, the boutique balances Tory Burch’s distinctive aesthetic with a modern point of view. A conversation between old and new, minimal and maximal, architectural and decorative.
Brand codes — oak, rattan and brass — are reimagined in different finishes and tones, and humble materials are used in unexpected ways, creating the tension between high and low that Tory often references in her collections.
The ground floor is defined by four main areas and features. A specially designed parquet pattern floor, made with wood and ceramic, leads into the space. Baskets suspended from the ceiling form a canopy of natural texture above handbags and accessories. This detail was pulled from Tory’s memories of woven baskets from all around the world that hung from the kitchen ceiling in her childhood home in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Beyond, a wicker honeycomb structure, inspired by Tory’s own bee apiary in Antigua, is designed specifically for handbags, small leather goods, jewelry and personal objects she has collected. Landscape artist Miranda Brooks created an outdoor garden space behind the store.
Work by women artists and local artisans is featured throughout 151 Mercer. Francesca DiMattio, whose sculptures challenge traditional norms of femininity, was commissioned to create a chandelier suspended in the second-floor shoe salon, as well as hand-painted rails.
A hand-hammered metalwork Tree of Life motif lines the underside of the staircase. Tory has always been fascinated by its symbolism of renewal, eternity and growth, as seen in diverse cultures dating back 4,500 years.
The second floor features footwear and the Home collection. The shoe salon is built in a circular room; the ceramic chandelier hangs above a divan de milieu that has been redone in vintage patchwork quilts found in antique markets. Beyond, pieces from the Home collection are shown in a cabinet inspired by a vintage armoire in Tory’s home.
The third floor is dedicated to ready-to-wear and is reminiscent of a living room with a geometric layout, pink rag rug, floral chintz sofa and bold ceiling pattern.
Tory chose the unique pieces seen throughout the boutique, from copper resin-filled travertine tables to an Arts and Crafts chair, and pottery and art found while traveling.
