Inside J.Crew’s 190 Bowery Takeover—An Immersive Cashmere-Filled House Party
Guests entered J.Crew’s immersive experience at 190 Bowery, moved through rooms evoking the brand’s heritage, watched a performance by Blood Orange, and sat for dinner by chef Flynn McGarry ahead of his new restaurant, Cove.
On Tuesday night, the former Germania Bank Building was transformed into an acclaimed immersive experience for the American lifestyle brand. Creative Directors Olympia Gayot (Women’s and Kids’ Design) and Brendon Babenzien (Men’s Design) welcomed guests to the meticulously constructed “home” of J.Crew to celebrate the brand’s heritage and longstanding legacy.
Inside the Beaux-Arts–style edifice, singer-musician The Dare posed for a photograph while pretending to play a game of pool in a sports-styled recreation room. The space brimmed with mismatched antique sofas, vintage tennis rackets, and a wall display of men’s collared overcoats and baseball caps.
“We really wanted it to feel like someone’s home that had been lived in for generation after generation in New York—almost as if someone had collected lamps and furniture over decades,” said Gayot. “It’s the same way you would collect J.Crew over generations, from the ’80s, ’90s, 2000s, and beyond.”
Up four flights of the antiquated staircase were the remaining carefully designed rooms: an atelier imbued with early design swatches and materials; a bedroom piled with mounds of heavenly cashmere; and a study made up of past catalogs and old photographs, leading to a back room covered—walls, ceiling, and all—in blue-striped fabric.
Additional guests included Anna Sawai, Cazzie David, Chloe Fineman, Deacon and Ryan Phillippe, Dominic Fike, Eva Victor, Grace Gummer, LaKeith Stanfield, Leslie Bibb, Lukas Gage, Mark Ronson, Martha Stewart, Victoria Pedretti, B.J. Novak, Liza Koshy, and Blood Orange—who later performed an especially intimate set from his latest album, Essex Honey.
In the spirit of feeling at home, an exquisite sit-down dinner was prepared by chef Flynn McGarry—as a preview of his new restaurant, Cove. Guests flooded the dining room in search of their seats; along the way, musicians Mark Ronson and Dominic Fike exchanged greetings, as did podcast host Recho Omondi and actor Victoria Pedretti.
The evening felt like an assemblage of sorts, which Babenzien noted as the brand’s aim for its events. “J.Crew historically is a brand that really celebrates family, friends, and gathering,” he said. “You see it all the way back to the beginning of the catalogs—many of the original shoots were just going out with groups of people and capturing them in real time.”
Ben Rosser/BFA.com1/18Martha Stewart, Olympia Gayot
Ben Rosser/BFA.com2/18Cazzie David