Heat Waves and Hurricanes Couldn't Stop Cosabella's Flagship

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• Soon, these will hang in frames on the celebrity lingerie wall of fame.
• When we woke up this morning we had no idea we would be photographing Sarah Michelle Gellar's underwear before the day was through.
• Approach the desk, and a trained staffer will help you find your size.
• See? Drawers of stock.
• The hormone-accommodating Marni bra
• Note the rippled padding.
• Cosabella recently re-engineered their classic thongs to be even softer and more sheer.
• Everything is made in Italian fabrics and produced in Italy.
• The Never Say Never panty now goes up to size 22.
• Candy-colored thongs in the back room
• Cosabella produces a huge variety of merchandise, so the Soho opening means it's suddenly much easier to get hard-to-find items.
• The store carries the bridal collection, and they're hoping to start hosting showers soon.
• Note the silver fire door in back. It allows the company to close off the space for VIP fittings and editorial previews.

Cosabella Sales VP Guido Campello learned his wife was pregnant the same day the brand announced plans to open its first New York store. The boutique finally began greeting customers earlier this week—to the relief of Campello, who is now the proud father of a three-month-old baby.

Store openings always take longer than planned, but they're not usually quite as complicated as the miracle of human reproduction. The Cosabella team, though, faced down a truly unlikely series of obstacles as they tried to renovate the old garage at 220 Lafayette Street. There was the time contractors poured cement floors just before a heat wave that caused the cement to expand and crack. There was the mix-up with the fire door, which was supposed to weigh 100 pounds but showed up weighing 1,000 instead. And then there was that whole hurricane thing.

You'd never guess it from the current incarnation of the store, though. The country's third outpost of the Italian brand (there are other locations in Atlanta and Miami) is a pristine white box that still manages to feel homey thanks to old-world Soho details like exposed brick walls. In true Italian fashion, they don't have a lot of stock on the floor—just one piece from each style. Customers place orders at the cashwrap, which hides a series of drawers containing a variety of sizes. The idea is to encourage shoppers to interact with the trained staff, who can help with custom fitting and point out obscure details. (Did you know the Marni bra has rippled padding to accommodate the way breasts change size depending on the time of the month? Neither did we!)

Cosabella has a big following among stars who've worn their lingerie in movies, on TV, or in magazine shoots. Naomi Campbell is so attached to one specific thong style in chocolate brown that after the company discontinued the color, she asked them to produce a special 100-piece run just for her. To play up the celebrity connection, the brand has asked a range of stars—Courteney Cox, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Paula Abdul—to autograph their favorite styles, which will soon hang on a wall of fame opposite the fitting rooms.
· Cosabella Shows Some Skin at 220 Lafayette [Racked NY]
· Cosabella's Flagship Will Be Decorated with Celebrity Underwear [Racked NY]
· Cosabella [Official Site]