French Curve

Kitsune set up shop in the Big Apple Left to Right: Jim Moore, Gildas Loaëc, Dexter Peart, Ted Stafford, and Justin Doss. Left to Right: Jennifer Zuccarini, Nick Wooster, Dexter Peart, and Lee Anne Enrico. Left to Right: Caroline Walker, Gildas Loaec, and Annabelle Dexter Jones. Guards After Party at Le Baron's NY Version ( image courtesy of http://24hpp.com ) Worth the wait, Kitsune finally open their 1st ever New York City boutique in conjunction with the NoMad Hotel. The clean, modern, French aesthetic of the brand, pair naturally against the NoMad's art nouveau decor and romantic French Renaissance architecture. Gildas Loaec, one half of the founding duo, spoke a bit on the venture: "We got the chance to be invited by the NoMad team to operate our store out of the hotel, so it was kind of a big opportunity. Being from Paris, New York is such dream for us cause it's quite the big city. About 2 years ago, we were thinking of opening up a store, but the timing is great in this area. We are extremely happy." The concept of the shop stems from it's other co-founder, Masaya Kuroki. All 1,000 square feet of space seek to lure forward thinkers who share a lush, but sleek taste in fashion, sound, design and overall lifestyle. In addition, the store offers a select group of accessories delicately curated by both its founders, which compliment the brand and range from WANT Les Essentials de la Vie, Monocle, to Michel Vivien and Aesop. The brand will soon showcase an exclusive collaboration with the 120 year-old French shoemakers J.M. Weston. Initially conceived in 2002, Kitsune has established itself as a lifestyle with its hand in design, apparel and music. Much of this can be attributed to the backgrounds of its founders, as Gildas was former manager to the French outfit, Daft Punk, while Masaya, a former architect. The mod universal nature of the brand has translated in the opening of shops and a host of musical showcases worldwide. ~ Mister Lee - http://www.kitsune.fr/ http://www.thenomadhotel.com/ http://wantessentials.com/ http://www.monocle.com/ http://www.michelvivien.fr/ http://www.aesop.com/ http://guards.bandcamp.com/

OWN magazine  4/21/2012 6:39 EDT