A Star is Born

Make as much fun of Jessica Simpson as you like-her music, her reality TV appearances...

Annie Block -- Interior Design, 9/1/2010 4:51:00 PM

Make as much fun of Jessica Simpson as you like-her music, her reality TV appearances. But she's had tremendous success as a designer of bustiers and belts, boots and bags. Her handbags have done so well, in fact, that they warranted their own showroom: a 5,000-square-foot floor of a 1930's building in the garment district.

The Camuto Group, licensing partner for the Jessica Simpson Collection, specified a bright, fresh setting with a hint of luxury suitable for products geared toward young women. Andre Tchelistcheff Architects responded with a gleaming white fantasia, an open plan that includes display space as well as design studios and offices. Flooring is epoxy. Most of the handbags are shown in cases of glass and lacquered MDF, mounted on concealed casters for easy reconfiguration when lines debut or catwalk presentations occur. However, the vitrine in the entry is fixed in place, fronting an expanse of shattered windshield glass. That makes an interesting mix-and-match combo with the trio of Italian crystal chandeliers in the main studio.

Images by Seong Kwon.