Can Tourist Traps Become Fashion Destinations? by Chavie Lieber

New York City’s Rockefeller Center is deep into redevelopment and leaning on Michelin-starred chefs and fashion upstarts, as post-pandemic shopping districts look to cater to locals as well as international visitors.

Developers across the US and UK are creating differentiated retail experiences to make shopping districts
more appealing to locals while tourism recovers from the pandemic.
Deals on rent and other incentives help offset the risks for small brands.

The developers behind Rockefeller Center have a plan to shed the historic section of Midtown Manhattan’s
reputation as a tourist trap: out with Ann Taylor, in with Lingua Franca.
For years, the stretch between 48th and 51st streets was best known as the spot to take photos in front of the
giant Christmas tree and live out “Sex and the City” dreams by lining up for a Magnolia Bakery cupcake. On sunny weekday afternoons, office workers jostled with tourists for spots to pick over a salad on their lunch break. Until recently, clothing stores catered to this audience, with outposts from J.Crew, Banana Republic, Anthropologie, Michael Kors and Cole Haan.
Real estate developer Tishman Speyer, which owns much of the New York City neighbourhood, had been
looking for ways to shed the neighbourhood’s tired image even before 2020, when both the office workers and the tourists disappeared overnight.
Now, a rapid redevelopment is underway. The area has welcomed a slew of restaurants from in-demand
Michelin-starred chefs like Ignacio Mattos and husband-and-wife duo Junghyun “JP” and Ellia Park, and
some smaller fashion labels have set up shop alongside the mega brands, including footwear label Armando Cabral, fine jewellery designer Eva Fehren and woven accessories line Bembien. Todd Snyder will open a two-floor store this summer, and Alo Yoga is coming this fall.
The goal is to make Rockefeller Center a space for New Yorkers who aren’t there for work or at the insistence of relatives visiting from Ohio. It’s a problem confronting spaces from Boston’s Seaport District to Los Angeles’ Row DTLA and London’s Covent Garden that previously were geared toward visitors rather than locals. Developers also see new opportunities, including city dwellers playing local tourists — a trend that picked up during Covid, when travellers put their international trips on hold. The owners of nearby office
buildings also hope hip restaurants and niche fashion labels will lure back white-collar workers.
“The North Star is to make this New York-centric,” said EB Kelly, managing director at Tishman Speyer. “We think if a place is a destination for [locals], it will also be a terrific destination for domestic and international visitors.”
The revamp is still in progress: foot traffic in the Rockefeller Plaza area in April is still down 40 percent from
2019, according to data from Placer.ai.
But on a recent spring morning, the corner of 49th street and Fifth Avenue was buzzing. A recently-opened
roller skating rink was peppered with teens filming TikToks. Shoppers perused minimalist suiting looks from
designer Ryan Roche and striped summer T-shirts from Kule that they had seen on Instagram. A group of
diners piled out of the doors of Lodi, an all-day Italian cafe from Mattos, and made their way to Rough Trade, a vinyl record store that had moved from Brooklyn last summer

All across the US, city retail areas are considering ways to bring in small upstarts, and are often looking to
“popular home-town heroes because shoppers don’t want to see a store that’s rammed down their throats at a mall,” said Chris DeCrosta, co-founder principal of real estate firm GoodSpace.
Since developers are now keen to work with smaller fashion brands, they are more willing to work out deals
on rent. Snyder said the Tishman Speyer team was more flexible “than any other landlord” about his new
store’s lease terms.

Trading Mass for Niche
While Rockefeller Center still has its Banana Republic, niche fashion brands are important to making it and
other neighbourhoods feel welcoming to tourists and locals alike. Where in recent decades the strategy was
to offer well-known retailers and chain restaurants, now developers want to play host to a mix of brands that
can’t be found anywhere else.
“It has to feel … very strongly community-based, as opposed to the same thing you can get in every other city,”
Jonathan Schley from real estate firm CBRE, who worked on several real estate deals in Rockefeller Center.
Kelly said her team has been looking for up-and-coming designers to make the shopping experience feel
more distinctive. Tishman Speyer also hired Jenna Lyons, the former J.Crew creative director, to consult on
the Rockefeller Center rebrand.
Amanda Kludt, publisher of Vox Media’s food site Eater, contrasted Rockefeller Center’s strategy to that of
Hudson Yards, a major retail, office and residential development on New York’s west side that opened in
2019 with big brands such as Neiman Marcus and Zara as tenants.
“Hudson Yards was a missed opportunity because it felt like … someone just plopped a mall onto a parcel of
land in New York,” said Kludt. “Rockefeller feels more creative. The curation is excellent and it’s attracting
really fashionable young talent.”
Developers still see a role for mass brands. Michelle McGrath, executive director of Capital & Counties
Properties, which manages Covent Garden, said city retail neighbourhoods are now looking for a healthy mix.
“You’ve got to get a balance of independent, homegrown and global,” she said.

Opportunities in Sight
For brands, signing onto newly developed retail neighbourhoods has opportunities as well as perils. Rents
tend to be high and post-pandemic foot traffic can be unpredictable.
Hali Borenstein, chief executive of Reformation, which will open a store in Covent Garden later this spring,
said brands should be looking to places where “there’s a lot of new energy.”

Increasingly, retail neighbourhoods are looking to focus on community, said Melissa Gonzalez, principal and chief executive of retail agency the Lionesque Group. Developers will want brands that can host parties and actually draw in crowds.
“The average store shouldn’t be thinking about how much product they can fit per square foot, they are
thinking about experiential formats as consumers evolve,” said Gonzalez. “What newness will draw
customers in and what will drive traffic back?”

How To Channel Golf & Tennis Style This Summer (Actual Play, Optional) by Jinnie Lee

We’ve got summer sports on the brain — namely, tennis and golf. The PGA Tour is underway; Wimbledon is approaching next month. But even if you’re not spectating, we bet the golf and tennis looks have still been on your mind this summer.That’s because we’re seeing the ultra-sporty style trend in a big way this summer. Both golf and tennis have traditionally been synonymous with prep culture. While that vibe is still prevalent, the styles are far more effortless, casual, and wearable than before. It’s the latest iteration of the athleisurewear trend, and it has just the right mix of elevated polish and laid-back ease. Plus, with looks this fun and flirty, you can wear them anywhere — no court or links required.Ahead, check out the elements of what makes for a stylish golf or tennis player — that is, minus the racquets and clubs.

Crew Socks

Make no mistake — there’s a certain style of sock needed to complete the tennis or golf look, and that is the high crew. The reason is so that a higher-cut sock can absorb sweat that’s dripping down your legs. (Ankle socks could never.) You’ve got a few extra inches of upper sock area to show off, so go ahead and select a snazzy pair. Kule The Women’s Tennis Sock, $28.00, available at Kule.

The 13 Very Best Cashmere Sweaters by Arielle Avila

A cashmere sweater is a versatile, durable, seasonless investment that can last decades (as long as you keep the moths away). But choosing the right one can be overwhelming because you’re paying a premium price for an inherently luxurious staple. Cashmere comes at a heftier price because cashmere yarn comes from the fluffy undercoat of cashmere goats, which makes for a softer and warmer fiber than sheep’s wool. (Fascinatingly, cashmere goats are a type and not a breed; according to the Cashmere Goat Association, almost all goats can grow cashmere, but only selectively bred flocks produce it “in significant amounts.”) To help you find the right option for you, we asked experts and sourced our archives for picks in every budget.

Best overall | Best crewneck | Best less-expensive crewneck | Best V-neck | Best turtleneck | Best less-expensive turtleneck | Best striped | Best cardigan | Best plus-size cardigan | Best polo | Best less-expensive polo | Best splurge-worthy fun sweater | Best less-expensive fun sweater

What we’re looking for

Size range: In our search for the best, we’re looking sweaters with an inclusive range of sizing options.

Style and details: “Your safest bet is to buy something that could have longevity at that price point, as opposed to something that’s trend-driven that you might get rid of in a couple of seasons,” says stylist Lilli Millhiser. While that’s a good general shopping rule, it’s especially true when it comes to cashmere since it can get pricey. While most of our picks are classic cuts and neutral colors, we also included options with bolder designs and patterns. Because, as Mina Alyeshmerni of online boutique Maimoun told us, “comfort should also feel sexy.”

Price: As we’ve mentioned, cashmere typically costs more than other natural fibers. Despite that, we’ve included a range of affordable options that don’t sacrifice quality. We denoted the recommendations below as either $ (under $150), $$ ($150–$250), or $$$ (over $250).

Best striped cashmere sweater

Kule The Sophie in Cream/Navy $298

Sizes XS to XL | Crewneck with stripe design | $$$

After a few of her sweaters “were decimated by moths,” former Strategist writer Hilary Reid bought this Kule cashmere sweater on sale for $100. She says it’s the “softest, most substantial-feeling cashmere sweater” she owns. It has an “ideal and elusive crewneck fit: It’s cut comfortably close enough to wear on its own, but can still accommodate a shirt underneath without looking bulky.” Learning from her mistakes, she stored it in “what was essentially a fortress of anti-moth cedar blocks,” and takes care of it in the winter by spraying it “between dry cleans with this Laundress wool and cashmere spray.”

What Chloe Fineman Can’t Live Without by Chloe Fineman as told to Katherine Gillespie

If you’re like us, you’ve probably wondered what famous people add to their carts. Not the JAR brooch and Louis XV chair but the hair spray and the electric toothbrush. We asked Saturday Night Live’s Chloe Fineman — who also currently stars in Pantene’s new “Can Your Conditioner Do This?” campaign — about the toaster she uses on both coasts, the sunglasses she discovered in Miami, and her Zabar’s order.

Kule Oy Vey tote $188

I have to carry my laptop with me always, and this is a perfect laptop bag. It’s very sturdy and a little cheeky and a little funny, which I always like in a tote. It’s big, so I use it when I have to carry a dress for Saturday or a pair of heels. It can carry a shocking amount of stuff. Kule also makes the best socks ever. My boyfriend steals them.