A model for the 21st-century urban experience, Hudson Yards is an unprecedented mix of buildings, parks, utilities, and public spaces that combine to form a connected, responsive, clean, reliable, and efficient neighborhood. Planned as the first LEED-certified neighborhood, Hudson Yards is home to a first-of-its-kind microgrid and two cogeneration plants that will save 24,000 MT of CO2e greenhouse gases from being emitted annually by generating electricity and hot and chilled water for the neighborhood—more than twice as efficiently as conventional energy sources. Additionally, nearly 10 million gallons of storm water will be collected from building roofs and public plazas, then filtered and reused in mechanical and irrigation systems. The development of Hudson Yards also provides for over 1,300 new or permanently preserved affordable units onsite and in the neighborhood, 14 acres of public space, and a new K-8 public school.
The 720,000-square-foot mall in New York’s brand-new $25 billion development Hudson Yards is a look into the future of shopping that is moving beyond experiential retail into the realm of inspirational retail. Retail environments are moving beyond “Instagrammable” moments to community spaces, lounges, restaurants, and imaginative cultural exhibitions incorporated into the selling space. The tenant mix includes some permanent stores with many pop-ups. The second level, dubbed the “floor of discovery,” will contain a permanent exhibition space from Snarkitecture called “Snark Park” featuring a tri-annually rotating schedule of playful and immersive design environments along with experimental retail concepts and DTC brands.
Tina Hedges, founder and CEO of the first Zero Waste Beauty™ brand Loli, shares the reasoning behind their offline partnerships in two retail concepts at The Hudson Yards. “As a DTC brand with curated offline experiences, we’re prioritizing retail partnerships with discovery destinations like 3Eden and Batch at the new Hudson Yards—masters of the changing tastes, lifestyles, and demands of the millennially minded consumer. Our consumer wants to feel like they are discovering in every moment—both online and offline—seeing, touching, and experiencing new things in every moment of every day and we plan to be right alongside them in this journey.”
THE BEAUTY ROUNDUP:
Atelier Cologne (level 2) Hudson Yards marks the third NYC-branded retail location for this niche fragrance brand.
Batch (level 2) The SF-based immersive retail concept launched a curated selection of brands merchandised to show how they can work in your home. Batch Hello brings the best home, beauty, apparel, accessory, pet, beverage, and art together for a 6-week introduction to our favorite finds. Style Concierges are on hand to introduce products to shoppers and guide them through the thoughtfully designed vignettes. Lindsay Meyer, Founder & CEO of Batch, said, “As a latecomer to the Shops at Hudson Yards, we benefitted tremendously from tapping the managerial experience of Related Companies in going from a signed deal to open in two months. Participating in the opening activities were important to us and it has definitely translated to traffic and results. We have been averaging nearly 1,000 visitors per day in this new location and the amount of enthusiasm for our unique and ever-changing product mix is an important part of how Hudson Yards has chosen to stand out as a next-gen development project.”
BLVD at Neiman Marcus (level 7) beauty salon has partnered with Neiman Marcus in offering a new standard in beauty services, including blowouts, manicures, pedicures, nail art, lash extensions, laser hair removal, waxing, brow shaping, and peel services. “Consumers today want specialized brands they are passionate about, with the convenience of completing their beauty regimen in one place. Maintaining that, at an elevated level, isn’t always easy. At BLVD, we offer consumers the convenience of their ‘must have’ premium beauty services and brands in one easy to navigate, luxury experience. And now Neiman Marcus is able to offer an elevated all encompassing personalized beauty platform via BLVD that helps our customers look and feel their best from head to toe (literally)!”
Forty Five Ten (level 5) The fashion-forward Dallas retailer launched a 16,000-square-foot space with four distinct, gallery-inspired environments showcasing a mix of luxury and emerging brands across Women’s, Men’s, and Design. President and Creative Director Kristen Cole describes the project as “a labor of love” to The Cut. “We love the location, and the adjacency to the High Line and Chelsea galleries,” said Cole. “We have strong community within design, art, and fashion worlds, and are excited to build from there.”
3Den (level 4) founder Ben Silver is experimenting with creating a “third space” that is neither home nor work but provides an aggregation of services from mediation to yoga, working spaces, bathrooms, and showers with free products. There is free coffee, soundproof phone booths, an abundance of power outlets, and even two Casper nap pods. Core services will be included in a $6-per-half-hour price, but there is also a retail component as well, with visitors able to buy products in categories like food and health/beauty. The design was built to integrate beauty products in particular, which take up an entire wall in the bathroom. While you’re paying to use the space and the free products, you’re also subtly being deluged with marketing.
Materiae by David Pirotta for The Conservatory (level 1) Beauty industry veteran David Pirotta created an outshoot of his brand management and distribution company to retail a highly curated selection of brands. From hair to toe, fragrance to face oil, brands have to be a “triple threat”—i.e., an innovative formula housed in shelfie-worthy packaging created by a genuinely inspiring founder to make the cut. David Pirrotta said, “We fit in at the Conservatory as we’re the curated beauty destination that is edited seasonally by me and my amazing team. We will be launching seasonal edits and stories as well as featuring many of our newest brand launches at The Conservatory first! We want the customer to keep coming back seasonally and discovering something new and amazing!”
Neiman Marcus (levels 5, 6, 7) The 188,000-square-foot store is the first in Manhattan, and features thoughtfully curated products, unique services, an impressive art collection, and three signature dining options, which includes Cook & Merchants, Bar Stanley, and most notably, The Zodiac Room. The beauty floor is outfitted with Memory Makeover™ mirrors that record beauty demonstrations and makeup tutorials which can be texted and emailed to customers. A service component is integrated through a walk-up brow-shaping lab and nail art station in Beauty for quick specialty services. And indie beauty is represented with Curated By Shen. Jessica Richards, founder of the Shen Beauty boutique in Brooklyn and head of beauty and wellness at lifestyle chain Free People, did an edit of 12 niche brands from the Shen assortment. Richards said, “Curating an assortment to be showcased in Neiman Marcus is an incredible opportunity and one of which I hope to see roll out into other doors. Partnering with their team to execute something new and different is what I thrive on and could not be more excited to see the growth and response.”
Sally Hershberger HY Salon (level 1) opened a Lafayette Compton-designed full-service salon with 17 stations and a curated roster of New York’s top hairstylists & colorists, as well as Sally’s new picks for industry trendsetters. The salon will also service clients in their Hudson Yards apartments and on the Club Level with on-the-go services. “2019 will be a pivotal year for the company with the launch of our Hudson Yards flagship, which opens directly after the launch of our first in-resort salon, Sally Hershberger Montecito at Rosewood Miramar Beach. From the moment I heard about the Hudson Yards concept I knew its world-class shopping, retail and residences would give my sophisticated consumer an environment where she felt comfortable. We have always been a brand that leads the trends and look forward to delivering coveted hair to an even wider audience,” said Hershberger.
Sundays (level 3) has opened their third nontoxic nail salon in the city with a 1,200-square-foot outpost in Hudson Yards. “The expense can be very high in Hudson Yards, but I’m thinking about it for the long term,” Sundays founder Amy Ling Lin told Beauty Independent. “Eventually, I think I will get the return. I’m pretty determined about my vision to create a community and something more than just a salon. Making the business profitable is not the biggest concern for me right now, but, eventually, people will get to know us more and more. I’m testing out a lot of things, and I think of it as a learning experience almost like investing.”
The Conservatory (level 1) is created by Brian Bolke, president and co-founder of Forty Five Ten, and offers a thoughtful curation of Wardrobe, Living, and Well-Being across new discoveries and heritage brands in the 6,900-square-foot outpost, merging the convenience of online shopping with an immersive in-store experience that is high-touch and high-tech. “When Forty Five Ten opened in 2000, independent retailers filled the role of educating customers, presenting what was new and desirable in a time frame dictated by the industry through the channel that best suited the store,” Bolke said in statement. “Almost two decades later, customers now tell retailers what they want, when they want it and how they want it. Our job is to accept that seismic shift and focus on what makes a brick- and-mortar experience special—product curation, visual presentation, and human interaction, not inventory management. We want to guide the customer to purchase fewer, better things, and create a welcoming environment that celebrates what we’re calling ‘luxurious minimalism.’”
The Drug Store (level 2), a retail concept from Dirty Lemon parent company Iris Nova, features a unique bar experience alongside a cashierless vending store. “We’re investing in experiential retail to test new concepts and connect with consumers outside of the digital space. The Drug Store at Hudson Yards is a place where customers can enjoy handcrafted versions of new beverage products and, in doing so, contribute to the process that determines our new product launches on a national scale,” noted Zak Normandin, Founder & CEO, Iris Nova.
The Equinox Hotel to launch in June 2019 promising a culmination of the brand redefining travel as the world knows it.
THE USUAL BEAUTY SUSPECTS:
While there is certainly no shortage of hype on the new development, there is also an alternative view from New Yorkers, captured by Alexandra Schwartz’s cultural commentary in The New Yorker, “Hudson Yards Is The Hotel California of New York.”
