CULT ILANA KOHN OPENS ORCHARD ST. FLAGSHIP
Ilana Kohn is a line of clothing and textiles produced in NY that opene its first retail space this month at 57 Orchard.
Prior to entering the fashion realm, Kohn worked for nearly a decade as an award-winning commercial illustrator for clients such as The New Yorker, The New York Times, and Kiehl’s, among others. During the recession of 2008, Kohn returned to graduate school to pursue Historic Preservation and began sewing on the side to fulfill her creative drive. Finding herself more interested in the craft of apparel design, Kohn chose to pursue her eponymous line and officially launched Ilana Kohn in Spring 2012.
Designed in tandem with Ryan Brooke Williams of Kaleos Elidos, the space is meant to feel like a clean, white box with fun pops of color, complete with two half arches, matching the brand’s aesthetic of being easy going, comfy, and a little offbeat. Kohn only started the lease on May 1st of the year, so the build out has been a summer long project leading up to the opening.
A store opening felt natural for the brand as Kohn had stopped doing wholesale a year ago, which meant that she had longer had anywhere for customers to see and try on the clothes in person, so a retail space felt like the obvious next step.
One of the most exciting parts of the fashion business is the opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration and the store is no exception as friends of Ilana’s worked on the metal and millwork, and she’ll be stocking friends of the brands including Lindquist Object, Na Nin candles, Shino Takeda ceramics, and Bow Glass.
The store opening is a natural progression for the brand, having been around for over a decade, having built up a loyal and passionate customer base. They come to Ilana for clothes they know they will feel good in and that will wear well. They also produce clothing that looks great on a wide variety of bodies which our customers value which goes a long way in terms of building trust & loyalty with customers.
Kohn hopes the brand will serve as a place where customers can come and touch, feel and try on clothes in person again! Again, as Ilana no longer does any wholesale, our marketing has become almost entirely reliant on social media, aka meta… and they really like the idea of having an avenue of marketing not dependent on that.