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Tropically-infused fashion company Calypso St. Barth is opening six stores in 2011, including a flagship on 900 Madison Avenue between 72nd and 73rd Streets set to debut in July. When we checked out the soon-to-be hot spot today, we found the store design still very much under wraps. The windows were covered in pink, making us very curious about what fantastic things are hiding behind those closed doors.
After facing a few major setbacks in the last few years, Calypso St. Barth is ready to spread back into the mainstream fashion world. Without losing founder Christiane Celle's vision of a relaxed lifestyle filled with the ocean and sunshine, the company has begun an entire re-vamp of its business practices and products. WWD reported in April that Calypso recently closed nine unproductive locations, helping it re-focus on its ultimate goal of having an even dispersal of successful stores throughout the United States and Europe. And of course the recent collaboration with Target helped bring the brand into the public eye. New franchises such as the one on Madison should provide the new products with an outlet to be seen, bought, and loved by the public.—Annie Amrhein
· Calypso St. Barth for Target is Bright and Bounteous in Queens [Racked NY]
· Calypso Sets Course for Expansion [WWD, req'd subscription]