san francisco is becoming quite the retail town. in the past few years, it’s become home to marc by marc jacobs, the second largest bloomingdale’s in the country, reiss, and an enlarged louis vuitton. as i walked around the city the last day or so, i’ve discovered some new shops that are coming soon to the city.
the first is helmut lang, opening in the old jil sander space on maiden lane (across from marc jacobs). the line has been designed by michael and nicole colovos (formerly of habitual) for a little over a year after the line was sold to link theory (owner of theory). now more of a contemporary line than high-end, the designs are a little more blah than sleek yet interesting minimalism that lang (the namesake) was known for. it will be interesting to see how the line sells in sf; the only other store in the area that carries the line is hayes valley’s azalea.
next up in the old z gallerie on union street is ralph lauren rugby. rugby is at a lower price point than polo, and pieces include denim, tweed blazers, cardigans and cords for men & women in their late teens/early 20s. there is also a rugby section where you can customize your choice with patches like skulls & crossbones. most of the other rugby locations are in and around college towns (there’s a store in palo alto’s stanford shopping center), so it makes sense that a store would open here, although maybe not necessarily on union street.
finally further down on union street past ambiance is hush, the walnut creek boutique is setting up shop in san francisco. the store carries mens and womens, from lines like rozae nichols, diane vonfurstenberg, trovata and mayle, plus lots of denim. the space in walnut creek is reminiscent of an art gallery…and union street could use more of that.
