Olympia Gayot Channels J.Crew's Past and Future in Sparkling New Soho Store
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Olympia Gayot may be known for bringing fresh sartorial energy to prepster perennial J.Crew —not to mention being part of the creative squad credited with bringing the brand back from the brink. Now, Gayot can add “interior designer” to her list of credentials. Today in New York, J.Crew unveiled its new SoHo store, designed by Gayot in partnership with architecture firm Lalire March Architects. As with Gayot’s broader vision for the brand, the new store aims to stay true to J.Crew’s 40-year heritage with an eye toward the future.
Though Gayot has conducted interior work on her own homes (she has a penchant for modernist icons like Charlotte Perriand), the design of a brick-and-mortar retail store “is new to me,” Gayot tells ELLE DECOR. For a J.Crew store, she says, “You want classic, but you need impact to make it feel like it’s special.”
For inspiration, she pored through photos of 1980s and 1990s New York City lofts, airy coastal homes, and places she’s traveled to. “It’s like threading the needle across so many different things that I've seen,” she says.
The store’s defining gesture is a grand spiral staircase, which unites the womenswear section (the largest of any J.Crew store) on the main floor and the menswear section beneath. Its chrome railing nods to the brand’s nautical underpinnings while its navy color—a signature blue called BL8133—comes straight from J.Crew’s clothing.
The rest of the store is grounded in white and neutral shades, alongside that signature navy hue. “We have so much color in our clothing and in our collections,” Gayot says. “I really wanted the space to feel like a good grounding space for the clothes, so that we could bring in hot pink and red.”
For the furniture, the designer turned to her friend Michael Bargo, a dealer and interior designer. The two scoured her mood boards and set about acquiring pieces from specialists, online auctions, and visits to Brimfield Antiques Market in Massachusetts. A ’30s-era table from a restaurant in Marseilles, France, anchors the entryway where the floor is covered in navy and white tiles made by Heath Ceramics. Elsewhere, one can find vintage rope ottomans, a ‘50s wicker settee upholstered in a C&C Milano stripe, and an antique jewelry case from an old department store similarly showcases J.Crew’s necklaces, bracelets, and earrings.
Much like in the brand’s clothing collaborations, Gayot champions work by female artists and the store includes work by Ann Craven and vessels by Clair Catillaz. There’s also plenty of Perriand, whom Gayot considers a constant source of inspiration, including vintage sconces and an Lc7 swivel chair.
“Creating a lifestyle environment for the clothes and for the customer feels just really exciting,” Gayot says.
She did, however, call for some reinforcements: Gayot asked her father, a special finish painter who works with galleries and artists in Canada, for advice.
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