Willy Chavarria and Hillary Taymour Talk Fashion; Plus Store Openings – WWD

ON COURSE: Fashion designers Willy Chavarria and Hillary Taymour took the stage Monday night during a panel discussion hosted by Marist College’s fashion program where they discussed the state of the fashion industry and staying true to their missions.

Moderated by The New York Times fashion director and chief fashion critic Vanessa Friedman and Marist College’s director of fashion program John Bartlett, the designers spoke to a room of alumni and students, giving insight into their own businesses and how they’ve navigated the fashion industry.

“In 2009, I was really lucky to start a business in fashion school and it took off naturally,” said Taymour, who is the creative director of fashion label Collina Strada. “I’m still lucky for it to be continuing naturally with this successful small business. I’m happy that it’s a sustainable small business, but I’m very aware of the industry because everything is very grow, grow, grow. I don’t think that’s the way for me. I think to be happy with the art you’re making and being able to speak to the audience that you want to speak to and having a narrow vision works for me.” 

Taymour spoke about how despite challenges in the industry, she remains committed to creating a sustainable and eco-friendly fashion brand because she believes it’s the right thing to do. 

Chavarria also spoke about staying true to one’s values during the panel, stating that supporting social justice issues has always been a core part of his namesake label. 

“My own past growing up as a queer person of color in a small town and having a family that was part of the Civil Rights Movement and being very aware of these factors that hold people down — I guess I had been in the industry long enough that I was like, everyone is out for themselves here and there’s not a lot of good,” he said. “I was only going to do something if there was some good, otherwise I would open a bakery or something.” 

During the question and answer portion of the panel, an audience member referenced the designers’ mission of staying true to their values and asked how they communicate that to their customers and following.

“You have to align yourself with as many organizations as there are that have the same philosophy of creating change through fashion,” Chavarria said. “For me, it’s just being so convinced with yourself and your own mission that you include that in anything that you do.” — LAYLA ILCHI

FASHION FOREST: It’s not exactly forest bathing, but Muji will soon reveal an arbor-inspired installation in New York City.

As of Thursday, shoppers and passers-by in Hudson Yards can walk through “To the Forest of Verbs with ‘MUJI IS,’” an exhibition that was inspired by the brand’s book of the same name. This will be the first time the immersive experience is Stateside and the unveiling coincides with NYCxDesign, a citywide weeklong celebration of the various disciplines of design that kicks off Thursday and will wrap up May 25. The experience was previously staged in Japan, Singapore and most recently in Malaysia. 

The idea is that visitors will leave with a glimpse of Muji’s design ethos and highlights of a selection of products from the last 40-plus years. Strategically placed paper cylinders are set up for what is supposed to be a forest-like effect on the fourth floor of The Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards. On view through June 4, the installation rests on prime real estate in the shopping center near the entrance to its leading tourist attraction — The Edge, the highest outdoor sky deck in the Western Hemisphere towering 100 floors above Manhattan’s far West Side.

Organized by Muji USA Ltd, the exhibition was planned in conjunction with Muji Laboratory for Living. Torafu Architects handled the layout for its design. Akiko Karachi was in charge of the graphic design with Tokyo Studio taking care of the exhibition production. The idea is that visitors will peer into paper cylinder tubes that are each illuminated with a different Muji product, including garments and books.

Considering that Muji dates back to 1980 and is rooted in manufacturing that produces simple, affordable and “good quality products,” there was a plethora of options. Currently, there are more than 1,000 Muji stores around the world, carrying 7,000-plus items. That assortment features clothing, accessories, books, household goods to food and even houses. As was the case in other countries, the installation in the U.S. will be displayed based on the motives behind each product’s development. That will be categorized by 15 key verbs, that are displayed with appropriate Japanese verbs like “totonoeru” (to organize or to put in order) and “ikasu” (to utilize or to make the best use of.) 

The traveling exhibition is meant to introduce people to the heritage and “experimental practices” of Muji, according to Junko Suzuki, MUJI IS exhibition curator, who hopes visitors who walk through the MUJI IS forest will feel as though it is “unlike anything they’ve ever seen before.” 

The venue is not solely designed to be informational though. Hudson Yards shoppers will find a Muji pop-up shop alongside the Muji IS exhibition, featuring a curated selection of products that were created through the design processes and verbs found in the exhibit. Consumers will find include items like the brand’s popular Aroma Diffuser, stationery and other home goods. — ROSEMARY FEITELBERG

SHOE SHOPPING: “Come for the shoes, stay for the experience.”

That’s Alexandre Birman’s mantra for his new Schutz flagship in the heart of New York’s SoHo neighborhood. The location, which opened at 540 Broadway last week, was built out and opened in a matter of weeks to capitalize on the arrival of high tourist season in the city.

“This was a big dream for me, and there was so much energy around it,” said Birman, the chief executive officer of Arezzo & Co.

The ambitious executive, who launched Schutz when he was 19, said the new boutique represents a major step in the Brazilian brand’s American expansion efforts. Not only will it fuel direct-to-consumer sales, both in-store and online, Birman said, but the store will be a crucial tool to help tell the label’s story in a way it hasn’t yet been told Stateside.

The location, formerly a Steve Madden flagship, comprises 1,700 square feet of shopping space and an additional 2,000-square-foot storage space. All told, it can house about 25,000 pairs of shoes in the back of house.

The location is grouped into distinct categories: The front features a lounge-like area — decked out with custom Brazilian furniture — that plays up the most glamorous styles first, including the Amelia sandal and an exclusive wedge. In the center, natural styles focusing on cork and raffia are on display. And in the back, core looks are showcased on a display wall that features the Maryana boot and Ariella sandal.

New and exclusive product will be rotated into the assortment, priced from $98 to $278, every four weeks — and Birman believes that freshness, combined with a focus on customer service, will help the brand stand out in a competitive retail climate.

The founder estimates that the foot traffic in SoHo is about 15 times higher than in the Madison Avenue retail strip, where the current Schutz flagship is housed. “The Uptown girl was buying, but we were not reaching the younger Schutz [shopper],” Birman said. “Here, there are thousands of [customers] on this street every day.” (The Madison Avenue shop will close later this year, as the building where it is located undergoes a broader redevelopment.)

With an expanded focus on the U.S., Birman plans to spend more time in New York — and in the store itself, where he will have a special space dedicated to design.

In the meantime, the executive is staging Arezzo & Co.’s second “Pulsar” event in Brazil this week to kick off the new sales season. And he heads to Italy at the end of the month to visit factories there. The company acquired the Made in Italy Paris Texas brand in March and is now expanding its production base in Italy to make select Birman styles. — KATIE ABEL

FIRST STEP: Revo, the performance sunglass brand, has opened is first retail store, in Barcelona.

The 1,000-square-foot store is located on Baixada de la Llibreteria, in the Gothic Quarter, one of the city’s highest traffic areas. It carries the brand’s entire range of men’s and women’s styles including its NASA-based lens technology, its audio-capable sunglasses and its collaborations with Hall of Fame golfer Annika Sorenstam, Olympic gold medal skier Bode Miller and Peloton instructor Kendall Toole.

All purchases made at the store will come in a complimentary, limited-edition Revo Barcelona tote bag that will be available to purchase on the company’s website starting later this month.

Although the company chose Spain for its first store, it is looking closer to home for its next unit.

“We are so excited to open our first retail store in Barcelona as it’s a tourist gateway to the world,” said Revo vice chairman Gabor Kereszturi. “We look forward to expanding our global retail presence with a location in New York City under consideration as well.”

“We have high hopes for the success of the new Barcelona store; in the coming months, we will evaluate opening a location in the United States,” said Cliff Robinson, Revo’s chief executive officer.

No location or timing has been revealed for the New York City unit but the company is looking on the Upper East Side and hopes to make a decision by the end of this year.

Revo was founded in 1985 by NASA astrophysicist and optical engineer Dr. Mitch Ruda, who proposed using the coatings that protect satellites as lenses on sunglasses. Since then it has been owned by Luxottica, Oakley and Sequential Brands before it was purchased by B. Robinson and a team of private investors in 2018. — JEAN E. PALMIERI