What's Now - Materialista® reports on Aeropostale presentation at IIDA NY Retail Forum

Rachel Salomon, Larissa Nahari, Architectural Systems

 Materialista® is on vacation (lucky her!) so I am filling in as guest blogger. I am Larissa Nahari, Marketing Director for Architectural Systems. ASI was an event sponsor of the IIDA NY Retail Forum Event on Tuesday night. A group of us attended the accredited presentation, held at the very cool Herman Miller showroom, followed by a visit to the store. Two people won a $50 raffle, which would have come in handy when I was shopping for gifts for my nieces and nephews!

Ron Jackson, CEO and Nancy Jackson, President, Architectural Systems, Tim Anderson, VP Construction, Aeropostale

Nancy Jackson, President of Architectural Systems, is on the IIDA NY board and suggested the topic of the Retail Forum be about the new Aéropostale Times Square flagship. Nancy introduced the Retail Forum chairs to our longtime customer, Tim Anderson, Aeropostale’s VP of Construction and Store Design to be the presenter.

A typical Aeropostale store (Monmouth Mall, NJ) -- see the contrast below!

What a fantastic story we heard, the history of the brand (did you know Aeropostale means “air mail”?), the 885 stores they’ve opened, and the philanthropic efforts they’re involved with, like distributing over 1 million pairs of jeans to homeless teens!

I had intimate knowledge of this project, since Architectural Systems did a Featured Project e-blast, highlighting the materials supplied by ASI throughout the space. But what was most compelling about the presentation was to see how the final concept was achieved and the back story of how the design had to stay true to the brand, while still capturing the energy and iconic images of NYC.

 
With their out-of-the-box thinking, GHA Design Studios from Montreal was appointed as the design firm, based on a competition Aéropostale held, looking for who was most able to incorporate all of the NY-centric elements in the design.

The turn-around for the store was extremely fast, (we know how quickly yet successfully we got all the ASI materials there!). Metro Tile is installed throughout the 2-level space, following the subway concept and replicas of the NY Public Library’s lion statues sit above grey porcelain flooring.

The Soho T-shirt shop is Tim Anderson’s favorite, where our Tin Ceilings and Reclaimed Timber Flooring duplicated the bygone factory architecture of one of NYC’s oldest neighborhoods (and one I like to shop in too!).

Though we already had the inside scoop, Anderson announced plans for a Dubai store opening, where they will reproduce the flagship design with the more recognizable New York components – and maybe they can even copy the amazing view of the “crossroads of the world” seen from the Times Square store’s balcony!

George Reddick, Architectural Systems, on the 2nd floor balcony @ Aeropostale Times Square

Have you been to the Aeropostale NY flagship yet? Tell us which is your favorite “room!”