Gabriela Hearst’s Philosophy About Fashion Is Built for the Future
The designer's new Madison Avenue store is a study in careful, sustainable forethought.
“We didn’t want the space to be intimidating, like some luxury brand stores,” says Gabriela Hearst of her new Madison Avenue flagship.
Photographer: Jonathan Hökklo
At Gabriela Hearst’s new flagship store, a light-bathed space connected to the Carlyle Hotel on New York’s Madison Avenue, there are no mannequins or window displays, and her timeless clothes and coveted handbags are a discreet presence. “We wanted to express our vision of luxury,” she says. “There’s already so much marketing and selling thrown at us, it feels overwhelming.”
That restrained view reflects a namesake brand that’s as concerned with its ecological footprint and social impact as it is with its profit margins. There’s a warmth to the store, with its subdued color-palette, long sofa, and spacious silk-walled changing rooms. On the wall in front is a framed quilt crafted by the great-grandmother of Hearst’s husband Austin in the 1800s, an inspiration for the brand’s recurring herringbone pattern.