Who said retail is dead? New York Fashion Week (NYFW) is kicking off, and there are almost as many store opening cocktail parties to attend as there are runway shows. Some brands, like Magda Butrym, TWP and J. Press, are even doing both.
Contemporary label TWP opened a flagship on Madison Avenue on September 1, the same day 7 For All Mankind reopened its renovated SoHo store. Victoria Beckham opened her new SoHo store at 150 Mercer Street — her first in New York — two days later.
The triad was a preview of what’s to come during NYFW, when a flurry of brands will open new stores in the city, some accompanying a fashion show, some in lieu of one, while other brands simply look to tap into the flurry of activity, press, and people in town during one of New York fashion’s busiest weeks.
For Magda Butrym, the impending store opening on September 11 is about underscoring the American market as its primary focus for retail development, says CEO Jakub Czarnota. “Opening for September NYFW is timed to capture the attention of the fashion lovers who visit and turn their eyes to the city at this time,” he says. “September [is also] ‘back to school’, when luxury consumers are back home from vacations, and the fourth quarter is also typically expected to be the strongest period of the year retail-wise.”
For Hermès, opening a store on September 19, it’s less about fashion week and more about the optimal timing of the fall season, says US president Diane Mahady. “The timing will allow the boutique to feature exciting seasonal fashion and accessories collections, as well as novelties that are unique to this location,” she says.
But for many founders, the pull of NYFW lies in the people it brings together. “Choosing to do this during fashion week felt particularly special, as our community from around the world is in town to share this moment with us,” says Marieke Meulendijks, founder and creative director of Róhe. Rùadh founder Jac Cameron shares this logic. “Aligning the opening with NYFW felt like the perfect opportunity to introduce the space. It allows us to open our doors at a moment when the fashion community is already gathering in New York, and to celebrate the launch with our community alongside the spring 2027 collection,” she says.
Tone Deaf Studios founder Mustafa Ahmed is operating with a similar logic. He remembers the brand’s first pop-up on the Lower East Side — Tone Deaf wasn’t on the official NYFW calendar, but that didn’t matter. “What we discovered is that there is a whole other fashion week happening alongside the one seen by fashion insiders,” Ahmed says. “New York fills with independent brands and people who may not belong to the upper strata of the industry but still care deeply about design, community, identity, and the personal mythologies we create through clothes.” The brand has timed its pop-ups around NYFW ever since, and took the same approach for its first store opening.
For those not quite ready for that first store, there’s also a slew of pop-ups before, throughout and directly following the New York shows, from Paris-based Turn popping up at East Williamsburg concept store Tangerine, to Australian furniture brand Koala bringing with it a host of Aussie fashion brands including St. Agni, Sir, and Blanca Studio. Though it’s a busy period, the pop-up logic is clear: it’s the right time to capitalize on the NYFW conversation without needing to invest in a runway show.
Here’s what’s opened — and is opening — this NYFW.
