Celebrity Tailor Nigel Curtiss Opens Store in Meatpacking District
The store houses the expanded ready-to-wear collection as well as the custom atelier.
By JEAN E. PALMIERI - read the full story here
Monica Mitro and Nigel Curtiss DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS/GETTY IMAGES FOR NIGEL CURTISS/COURTESY PHOTO
Nigel Curtiss has long been in sight
But now the custom tailor, whose résumé includes 10 years working with Rei Kawakubo at Comme des Garçons, as well as Yves Saint Laurent, Kenzo and a host of celebrity clients, is slowly emerging from the shadows.
Curtiss is opening his first store today, a 2,300-square-foot store on West 13th Street in Meatpacking County, where he will be selling a low-priced collection for men and women, while also moving Move your custom studio.
Curtiss, a self-deprecating Briton, started out as a textile designer in London more than four decades ago, where he sold fabrics to everyone from Paul Smith to Vivienne Westwood. At the time, he had long hair and a hippie mindset — “I look particularly sloppy,” he said with a smile — but that look drew Kawakubo’s group when they were looking for a model. her fashion brand.
The Japanese designer went to the scruffy Brit and offered him a job in 1984. Curtiss moved to Tokyo and together they made everything from furniture to alarm clocks. It wasn’t long before Curtiss suggested Comme start a menswear line, which led to the now-famous Kawakubo telling him, “Let’s do it.”
“She gradually attracted me to menswear making,” he says.
After founding Comme des Garçons Homme, Curtiss felt ready to launch her own eponymous label, which was sold at Barneys New York, Joyce, Browns and other high-end retailers. “But I never made any money,” he said.
So far, he’s served clients from his home in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood, but the new storefront will allow him to bring his custom studio to a popular neighborhood and hopefully simultaneously earn money. attract new customers.
“We think this is a good time to get new customers,” says Curtiss. “And it’s a good way for me to meet people and see what they want. I see it as an extension of my living room.”
He said he chose the Meatpacking District over Madison Avenue, because it was cheaper and he admired the neighborhood. “I love the area, it’s like a small village,” he said. “They close the roads, there is always something going on, there are great restaurants. Madison Avenue is insanely expensive and I don’t want the pressure to make $20 million a year.”
The Meatpacking store will also house the company’s new e-commerce site from a space at the back of the venue.
Curtiss, who admits he doesn’t know much about social media, says he built his business on word of mouth recommendations. But Mitro, who serves as chief executive officer of Nigel Curtiss, will lead creative, e-commerce, marketing and communications for the new company and store. “People want clothes to feel as if they were made just for them – from the fit to the fabric and style. Whether you’re buying ready-to-wear or tailored for a special occasion, choosing clothes feels like a personal conversation between the customer and the brand, and that’s something we’re happy to provide with Nigel Curtiss. ”
The store will offer an equal amount of men’s and women’s clothing in different categories, from cotton pajamas to retail for $ 200 and silk PJ for $ 550 to $ 800; polo for $295; jeans for $350 to $450, and clothes for $1,800 to $2,200 off. Custom suits range in price from $3,000 to $5,000 and up.
“I want to make small quantities of the best clothes. I want things to be made to be worn and loved, kept and passed on to the next generation. This is not fast fashion; it’s hard work, passion, and love of fashion,” says Curtiss.
To promote the store and its second launch, Curtiss and Mitro invited their daughter Aiden Curtiss and her boyfriend Felix Prabitz to be the face of the campaign, which was photographed by a family of photographers: Sante D’Orazio, his partner Enga Purevjav and his son Nick D’Orazio.
In addition to clothing, the store will also offer custom bed linens by Peter Reed, who has been creating bedspreads since 1861 and holds the Royal Warrant to supply linens for all royal residences. The shop also has a coffee bar and lounge.
