Daily Front Row

2009 December 2

Movement on Madison

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Devi Kroell, Meredith Melling Burke
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(NEW YORK) "It's technically my second store, but I think of it as the first," explained Devi Kroell last night of her gleaming new flagship at 717 Madison Avenue. (An East Hampton outpost bowed in 2006.) "This is the first store to feature the full concept. It's any designer's dream come true to have a store on a main street, whether it's here, in Paris on Faubourg or Avenue Montaine, or on London's Bond Street."

Kroell's soaring two-story flagship encompasses 2,800 square feet, designed by architecture firm Space 4. Along with her revered collection of exotic skin footwear and bags, the shop features several tempting furs as well as her capsule collection of ready-to-wear. For months before the boutique's formal opening in October 2009, Upper East Side dwellers could hardly go home without spotting the wooden storefront covering, painted an unmissable shade of shocking pink. "People were telling me that you couldn't miss it," Kroell recalled while greeting well-wishers such as Anne Slowey, Eric Wilson, Candy Pratts Price, Alexis Bryan Morgan, and fellow Austrian-turned-NYC-magnate Kurt Gutenbrenner. "Either you looked up and you saw it...or you looked down and you still saw it! I loved that the concept was fresh and positive in a time that was very difficult in New York. WIth all the stores closing here on Madison, it was a breath of optimism."

And while the designer's flagship has already drawn a global coterie of gift-seeking customers in the last few weeks, Kroell's seasonal shopping agenda is blessedly easy. "There's plenty to find in the store, so I'm all set," she laughed. "For the first time, I'm staying in New York for the holidays--out in the Hamptons, not travelling. It's been a busy year, so I need to chill."
ASHLEY BAKER