Designed by Griffin Frazen alongside the brand’s founder, Catherine Holstein, KHAITE concept store channels the raw energy of New York’s architectural past while asserting a contemporary, almost monastic sensibility.
The historic facade, with its cast-iron flourishes, is left untouched—a nod to the building’s origins—while the interior unfolds as a landscape of steel partitions, poured concrete, and troweled cement, evoking the material gravitas of the city itself.
At the core of the space, a singular Bucida Buceras tree, aptly named the Shady Lady, anchors the store in an unexpected moment of organic contrast. Positioned beneath a rediscovered skylight, it stands as a counterpoint to the rigorous geometric interventions that define the retail floor. The store’s design hinges on a subtle interplay of light and texture: steel walls curve and undulate, guiding visitors through a shifting procession of shadow and reflection, while the rough tactility of the cement surfaces absorbs and refracts natural illumination.
Frazen and Holstein’s philosophy resists over-refinement, instead embracing the imperfect patina of materials that will evolve over time. Even in its most intimate spaces—plush red fitting rooms that starkly contrast the brutalist main floor—there is a tension between softness and severity, creating an environment that is both austere and deeply sensorial. More than a retail space, Khaite’s flagship store feels like an architectural essay on permanence and transformation, a fitting tribute to the city that shaped it.
