Orla Kiely New York, Mercer Street store, NYC retail architecture, Manhattan shop building design

Orla Kiely New York Store : Mercer Street Shop

New York Orla Kiely Store, Manhattan, NY design by Architecture Republic, USA.

Orla Kiely’s New York Store – 5 Mercer Street, New York

Design: Architecture Republic

photographs : Geoff Searle

Mar 13, 2012

Orla Kiely New York Shop

Orla Kiely’s New York Store 5 Mercer street, New York

Ireland’s Queen of Prints, Orla Kiely, makes herself at home in New York with a life-size Doll’s House designed by Dublin based practice Architecture Republic.

Irish -born London-based fashion designer, Orla Kiely who has been dubbed the “Queen of Prints” by the British press, launched her first US store in New York this year. The doors opened in September, much to the delight of the many fashion-conscious Americans who have long admired her work and anticipated her new season designs.

The store – a stunning space of 2300 square feet – houses Kiely’s latest collection in a large installation that can be best described as a 1:1 doll’s house. Individual rooms, representing a cross section of a typical house, are decorated with her latest wallpaper patterns and filled with her delightful home wares. About the house, one can find pieces from her expanding range of bags, accessories, stationary and beauty products, as well as new pieces from her signature line of clothing.

photographs : Geoff Searle

Orla Kiely chose multi award-winning Irish architectural practice, Architecture Republic, for the design of the fit-out and was very excited about the unique spatial qualities generated by the installation. From exposed brickwork and high ceilings to more intimate domestic spaces and cosy corners, it is the variety of scales that makes it feel very both familiar and original, creating a very distinctive shopping experience. The concept, a central internal street that runs alongside the doll’s house, is the main display area that doubles up as a catwalk for launches of new collections.

The modular furniture and lighting system can be adapted for a variety of other events. The cabinetry was designed by Architecture Republic in collaboration with Orla Kiely and made by one of Ireland’s top joiners, Oikos and London-based workshop, Oval. The displays were made using typical dimensions for domestic furniture in order to achieve a sense of familiarity. It truly feels like a home from home for Kiely who has also chosen Architecture Republic for the design of her family home in South London. The store is located on Mercer Street in Soho, a convenient location for her usual customers and shares the street with big names like Ted Baker, Agnes B, Vivienne Tam and Marc Jacobs. For all the holiday shoppers in New York, make sure to pop in and take a look. You won’t leave empty handed.

image : Architecture Republic

Orla Kiely Manhattan Store – Building Information

Architect: Architecture Republic
Clients: Kiely Rowan PLC
Photography + Video: Geoff Searle

Orla Kiely Store New York – Further Information

Orla Kiely – 5 Mercer Street Store

Orla Kiely’s flagship store in New York is a 215 m2 boutique, situated on the ground floor of a 19th century manufacturing building at 5 Mercer street in the landmark area of Soho. It is the new home from home for the Irish designer’s latest collection. The 7.5m x 28m long space is divided lengthways in two parts; an open plan area that can be used for catwalk shows or exhibitions and a series of domestic scale rooms that house Kiely’s signature collection of bags, homewares, stationary, beauty products and wallpaper designs.

The spaces are arranged as a 1:1 cross-section of a doll’s house, acting like a stage-set for customers to play out their ambitions of creating an ideal home, complete with original Orla Kiely designs. The modern, interchangeable interior street space allows for theatrical events and unusual displays while the backstage service rooms are integrated into the doll’s house.

Orla Kiely’s flagship store in New York Film on YouTube

Making the customer feel comfortable is a priority in retail design and the spaces are proportioned with familiar dimensions relating to a typical home. The cabinetry is designed in modules of 450mm and 750mm to correspond with seat and desk height while the interior spaces have ceilings of 2.4m as in a typical living room or kitchen. All of the furniture was manufactured in Ireland and shipped stateside, representing a tour de force of Irish design abroad.

Type: Commercial
Location: New York, USA
Area: 215 m2 (2,300 sq ft)
Status: Completed
Design Architect: Architecture Republic
Dublin Project team: Maxim Laroussi, Neil Carroll and Diarmuid O’Sullivan
New York Project manager: Paula Flynn
New York Executive Architect: Ogawa Depardon Architects
New York project team: Gilles Depardon, Kathy Ogawa, Jason Tang
Orla Kiely London Project team: Orla Kiely, Chikako Sasaki, Sabrina Atkinson
Cabinetry manufacturer: Oikos furniture (ireland), Oval workshop (UK)

Orla Kiely New York Store images / information from Architecture Republic

Architecture Republic

Location: 5 Mercer Street, New York City, USA