The Mercer Street boutique opens with a partnership with the International Center of Photography, featuring the work of four women artists. Here, L’OFFICIEL speaks with Burch and the photographers about envisioning a “New” New York.
The opening of Tory Burch’s new SoHo boutique marks a homecoming for the designer. Burch first launched her eponymous brand in 2004, just a few blocks away on Elizabeth Street. Reflecting both a progression and return, the 151 Mercer Street shop offers the perfect backdrop for Burch’s eclectic, artisanal-inspired pieces.
Personal touches from Burch herself can be spotted among the ready-to-wear, handbags, shoes, and home collections available at the boutique. While customers peruse the new 151 Mercer handbag or the limited-edition Lee Radziwill Double bags exclusive to this location, they may also happen upon pottery and art handpicked by Burch during her travels. The cohesion between the collections and décor speaks to Burch’s distinct aesthetic and ability to mix and match references seamlessly. Both bohemian and modern, the store reflects the reputation of its neighborhood as a fashion and arts hub.
The latter is also nodded to in a special installation in partnership with the International Center of Photography on display in the window and entryway of the boutique. ICP x Tory Burch: A “New” New York features the work of four women photographers—Jutharat (Poupay) Pinyodoonyachet, Paola Fiterre, Lara Alcantara Lansberg, and Willamain Somma—who reflect on the impact of the pandemic on the city and its restoration.
“At any given time, there is a good story to be found or seen on any street in New York City. We wanted to celebrate New York’s energy and resilience through the work of young women photographers,” Burch tells L’OFFICIEL. “I’m thrilled to partner with the International Center of Photography to present the work of four artists who captured the mood of the city—how the pandemic has indelibly altered it and how there is now a renewed sense of hope and rebuilding.”
Each contributing photographer told their own story through this project, but there is an undeniable sense of transformation that carries through their work collectively.
“Last year, the pandemic changed the city so much,” Pinyodoonyachet says. “As a photojournalist, I think it is important to document this historical time. I went out shooting the city in the situation that I’ve never seen before. The way we adapted to this circumstance was new to me.” Her images convey a sense of distance, showing cordoned-off booths of a restaurant and chairs piled high atop dining tables, making room for social distancing and the “new normal.”
Somma and Fiterre also contemplated what a new normal looked like for the city, even questioning what both of those words mean for a place like New York.
With photographs captured in places far more expansive than the gridded streets of Manhattan, Somma reflects on the essence of the city and how, “New York is alive with new energy, new ideas, new inspiration constantly,” while questioning if it is “ever really new again, or is it constantly renewing?”
“In this moment in New York there’s a new tenderness, a pathos that I’ve visualized as “feminized” space,” the artist continues. “Drawing from land art traditions and feminist performance art of the 1970s and ‘80s, my images are narrative constructions of a female subjectivity; asking us to consider the perspective of the emotional, feminine self.”
Meanwhile, Fiterre’s images hone in on a more intimate view, while highlighting similar themes of womanhood and the transition to a new way of life. “I saw this project as an opportunity to channel all of the feelings that I went through during the pandemic, even when everything seemed to be returning back to normal,” she shares. “After all, what is normal? How much would it benefit us to return to that normality? Or is it not meant to be normal anymore? As an immigrant artist when losing all my jobs, fear took over much of my life. During the first months of the pandemic, I channeled all my fears and frustrations into a series of images that helped me deal with and negotiate with sanity.”
For Alcantara Lansberg, the artist found a way to articulate her feelings around the pandemic through her photography, literally spelling it out with rope. In one photo, “Oh New York” twists in cursive on the ground of an empty Times Square save for the photographer in frame. In another, “Back Stronger” is laid out in front of a smoke stack as another NYC staple, a yellow cab, passes. The photographer echoes the sentiment, telling L’OFFICIEL, “Being an immigrant and a proud Latina, I chose to make images to honor this beautiful city that has been my home for now 20 years. Let’s lift up our glasses and say cheers to not leaving, cheers to believing, and cheers to coming back stronger.”
Bringing the work of these photographers into the new store, Burch offers a testament to the community, diversity, and resilience of New York.
“I can’t think of any other designer that translates classic American style into such an appealingly approachable language for modern women—a dash of preppy without being stuffy, powerfully feminine, polished but not precious,” Somma says.
“There’s a clear messaging in the optimism joy and vitality of the brand which feels apropos to this moment in America broadly and to NY specifically with the opening of her new store.”
