The 10 Coolest Retail Spaces in NYC

Where architecture and shopping collide.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Mercedes Benz Manhattan

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Mercedes Benz Manhattan

770 11th Avenue at West 54th Street
Spector Group
2011

“Luxury has a new address,” reads a few lines of slick type on a wall at the new 330,000 sq ft Mercedes Benz flagship showroom. A spiraling ramp weaves its way through the height of the five-stories facility, and the clean lines of glass escalators, huge concrete columns, a stainless steel stairwell and a helix that lets cars enter and exit at different levels have all been built to the gold certification standards of the U.S. green Building Council’s LEED rating system. MBUSA President and CEO Ernst Live said he wanted customers to have an experience upon entering the new flagship. I think he got what he wanted.

image via thenewmb.com

Apple Cube

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Polo Mansion

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Dior Flagship

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Commes de Garçons

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Commes de Garçons

520 W 22nd St.
2009

The Commes de Garcons space in Chelsea is literally a hole in the wall…well, the entrance is, at least. After entering through an aluminum tunnel surrounded by wheatpaste posters and overlapping tags, you’ll find the inside is an aesthetic play on texture, with a stainless-steel perfume bar, corrugated foam and white-finished steel serving as a backdrop to Rei Kawakubo’s coveted architectural garments, with the designs of Juna Watanabe thrown in the mix. 

Image via grandlifehotels

 

Thom Browne

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Nike Stadium on Bowery

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Prada Flagship Store

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Saturday's Surf

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Derek Lam

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Derek Lam

10-12 Crosby Street
SANAA 
2009

Much like Derek Lam’s collections, which always boast minimal lines with maximum luxury, the designer’s first U.S. store is situated on the ground floor of a 19th century manufacturing building on Crosby street, and serves as an ode to the “less is more” mantra. Designed by the Tokyo-based architects behind New York’s New Museum, the shop also feels a bit like a gallery space, where Lam’s garments are sectioned into their respective collections and showcased from behind transparent acrylic bubbles, and the floor is a smooth, even surface of concrete.

Image via e-architect

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