Bergdorf Goodman's Major Renovations Include a 'Penthouse-Like' Section for The Row

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Bergdorf Goodman is betting on the new, and putting plenty of faith in The Row. As part of the BG 20/20 renovation plan that's already established many changes to the shoe salon and designer shops-in-shop, the department store is now turning to its sixth floor renovations that began in June, WWD reports. It'll feature a designer "Lab" with emerging talent and a "Modernist" collection that'll be anchored by the Olsen twins's label.

"We asked them to treat this as if it were their own apartment," senior vice president of fashion Linda Fargo told the paper. "They have an incredible eye." Since The Row has become one of store's biggest sportswear brand since it hit the racks six years ago, Bergdorf's is doubling their square footage with a "penthouse-like design" that'll be decorated with vintage furniture of the Olsens's choosing.

Though this area is now knee-deep in renovations—stripped "right down to the studs," as president Joshua Schulman put it—Bergdorf's is pushing for an April debut, making the sixth floor the premier place to shop The Row until its Upper East Side flagship opens.

"This is the first complete gut renovations we've done in decades," Schulman continued. "Six represented the best of 1980s store design."

"You have to balance traditional and classical elements with things that are modern and still keep it warm," Fargo added. "From a design point of view, six will be one of our most-modern floors."

Other designers included in the Modernist section are Donna Karan, Derek Lam, and Narciso Rodriguez, while the Lab will showcase newer names like Baja East, Adam Lippes, Preen, and Tomas Maier. Elsewhere in the department store, a jewelry complex will be installed on the 57th Street side (with those windows being dedicated to showcasing the latest styles) and a leather goods salon at the main Fifth Avenue entrance.

"By fall 2016, you will see a completely new and refreshed main floor experience," Schulman told the paper. That'll be shortly after Saks Fifth Avenue makes its downtown debut, but still well ahead of Nordstrom's and parent company Neiman Marcus's scheduled New York debuts.