Susan Alexandra is moving uptown as luxury shoppers get more selective

On February 13, Susan Alexandra will open a second New York store, at 1088 Madison Avenue, timed to Valentine’s Day and NYFW — it builds upon its first store, which opened in 2021 on NYC’s Orchard Street. The brand is known for its playful beaded jewelry, as well as its joint “Best in Show” dog fashion shows with Rachel Antonoff at NYFW, which it skips in February. 

The new 400-square-foot store, designed by founder Susan Korn with design studio Studio Galeon, features upscale details, including handmade Murano mirrors by Barbini, custom beaded sconces and chandeliers, moiré walls, and sherbet-toned tile in the brand’s signature yellow. Exclusive pieces include bags made using the same materials as the chandeliers, freshwater pearls and fine jewelry, alongside the brand’s first fragrance, “Glorious,” available as a $58 oil roll-on and a $60 candle. The store’s prices range from under $100 to the high hundreds, depending on a product’s category and craftsmanship.

In 2020, more than 80% of Susan Alexandra’s business came from wholesale accounts, but by 2021, that figure had reportedly dropped to around 10% as the brand pivoted toward direct-to-consumer and owned retail. A representative declined to disclose its current revenue and channel split.

The new address places the brand’s new store among heritage houses like Chanel and Hermès and contemporary peers such as Khaite and Toteme, which have helped modernize the corridor in recent years. Rents remain among the highest in the country, making the move a meaningful capital decision for an independent label relying on self-funding. Prime Madison Avenue retail rents are typically $400-$1,000 per square foot annually, with top blocks between 57th and 72nd Streets approaching $900–$1,000 per square foot according to a January 2026 report from real estate data companies CoStar and JLL tracking Manhattan retail corridors.

“Our growth is slow and steady,” Korn told Glossy ahead of the store launch. “But many of our customers live in NYC, with a large percentage residing in the Upper East Side. When the space became available, we jumped at the opportunity!”

Korn originally considered Los Angeles, but quickly pulled back. “The logistics of a store across the country, when I have a small New York-based team, [were] impossible,” she said. Instead, she followed her customer. “When you think of glam New York City, you think of the Upper East Side. The Metropolitan Museum. Women in fur coats with poodles. It’s very glam.”

The store’s product assortment doesn’t abandon the brand’s accessible roots. Core beaded bags retail in the low hundreds, with more intricate or pearl-embellished styles climbing higher but remaining below the four-figure territory common along Madison. Jewelry ranges from charm-heavy necklaces with playful motifs to more intricate lockets and pearl pieces. The fragrance offers an entry point at under $60.

That balance aligns with the dynamics outlined in Kearney’s latest Consumer Stress Index update and its report from earlier this month on the K-shaped economy — the K-shaped economy refers to a split recovery, where some consumers are thriving while others feel squeezed. This pushes brands to balance value and aspiration as shoppers become far more selective about where they spend. Kearney now argues that income alone no longer predicts resilience or spending appetite. Consumers are better segmented by exposure, liquidity, and downside risk, in terms of their vulnerability to housing costs, debt and market swings, rather than simply by earnings bracket.

Katie Thomas, the lead of the Kearney Consumer Institute and the report’s author, said brands are wrong to assume wealthy shoppers are immune to pressure. “Consumers across the spectrum are increasingly sensitive to value mismatches, not just price points,” she said. Even high earners can feel financially exposed if they are overleveraged or heavily tied to housing or the stock market.

Even in luxury, shoppers are cutting back in some areas while still investing in pieces or experiences that feel special or worth the money. They are not rejecting aspiration, but do want a clear reason why a purchase makes sense. Market research firm Euromonitor’s January 2025–February 2025 survey found that more than 70% of affluent consumers said they value experiences over material goods. In October 2025, Euromonitor reported that luxury stores were increasingly shifting toward immersive, hospitality-driven formats rather than purely transactional retail.

For its part, Susan Alexandra is sold on the importance of experiences. At the Orchard Street flagship, “bead night” tickets, priced at $78 per person, were the brand’s third best-selling item, according to Korn. Every week, customers can attend an event centered on creating their own beaded jewelry in-store, with cocktails and snacks included.

“Our intention with our stores is to create a space for more than just shopping,” Korn said. “They are places for gathering, where creativity thrives and flourishes, and for those magic NYC moments to occur. We’ve had people fall in love in the store!”

At the new Madison Avenue location, the brand will introduce elevated “luxe bead nights,” developed with a local jewelry guild. Guests will work with higher-end stones and more advanced materials, offering a more premium version of the experience and giving uptown shoppers more for their spend. The pricing for the new event has not yet been set.

The aesthetic shift of the brand’s stores mirrors the programming changes. “Downtown feels like a fun house,” Korn said. “Uptown is much more muted. It feels more like a palace.”

The opening lands during New York Fashion Week and just ahead of Valentine’s Day, a timing Korn described as a “happy, lucky coincidence.” Valentine’s is a strong gifting moment for the brand, and New York Fashion Week brings added foot traffic and visibility, according to Korn.

But, as is the case every February, Susan Alexandra is opting out of the fashion calendar this week. “Fashion Week is a choice,” she said, saying the event has served as a “slow burn” discovery engine for the brand. “You never have to do anything, but we choose to do [a show] in September.” The reason is bandwidth. “It’s extremely taxing. So much work goes into it. There have been Fashion Weeks that have come and gone, and I’m like, ‘I just don’t have it in me right now.’”

Instead of a February runway moment, the Madison Avenue store became a well-timed activation. “We need people to know we’re open,” Korn said. The brand is supporting the launch with a Valentine’s-themed opening party, social media campaigns and partnerships, including a collaboration with Lyft to drive fashion fans to the new address.

Farfetch’s Lunar New Year product strategy centers on subtlety

At Farfetch, Lunar New Year — which begins on February 17, ushering in the Year of the Fire Horse — is treated as both a gifting moment and a global merchandising opportunity.

Doralice Belli, chief merchandising and content officer at Farfetch, said the strategy starts with customer behavior. “With every campaign we create, we try to meet the customers where they are,” she told Glossy. For Lunar New Year, that translates to curated edits spanning partywear, jewelry and collectible capsules designed to balance playfulness with timelessness. Farfetch’s 2026 Lunar New Year campaign is anchored by an exclusive capsule with AMI Paris, focused on wearable nods to the Year of the Horse.

Beyond that exclusive, the marketplace’s curated edit includes seasonal capsules from Burberry, Diesel, Etro, Marc Jacobs, Marni, Moncler, Thom Browne and Tory Burch, some of which are repeat Farfetch collaborators. “We almost always — if not sell out entirely — reach very high sell-through,” Belli said of the capsules.

Using Burberry as an example, Belli noted some Lunar New Year collections are executed “very subtly,” incorporating seasonal color codes rather than literal zodiac symbols. It reflects luxury’s move toward pieces designed to live beyond a single celebration.

Earnings

• Hermès crossed €16 billion (about $17.3 billion) in 2025 revenue, growing 9% at constant exchange rates, with leather goods up 13% and the Americas up 12%. The company expects a roughly €200 million (~$215 million) negative currency impact in 2026, as FX and rising input costs weigh on margins even as core demand stays strong.
• EssilorLuxottica generated €28.5 billion (approximately $31 billion) in 2025 revenue, up 11% year over year, with Q4 accelerating to 18.4% growth, largely driven by the sale of more than 7 million pairs of AI glasses.
• Worth noting: On LuxExperience’s Q2 FY26 earnings call on February 10, the group reported 1.1% net sales growth and a 2% adjusted EBITDA margin, with Mytheresa continuing to expand gross margins on full-price selling. Against the backdrop of U.S. department store Chapter 11 proceedings, CEO Michael Kliger said, “The only way to have a sustainable, profitable business model is to focus on full-price selling.” He called promotions “very short-term” — a sharp contrast to the TikTok-amplified visibility of luxury markdowns at Harrods.

Executive moves

• Balenciaga has appointed Francesca Nardi, formerly of Valentino and Burberry, as global communications director, reporting to CEO Gianfranco Gianangeli and working closely with creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli.
• Bally has named Mario Grauso — operating partner at owner Regent and the brand’s chief creative officer — as head of business operations, effective immediately, as general manager Ennio Fontana exits.
• Loewe has promoted Thierry Conrad Reutenauer to chief marketing officer, succeeding Charlie Smith. He will have oversight of marketing, communications and brand functions as the LVMH-owned brand enters a new era under designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez.

News to know

• Bernard Arnault has purchased about €407 million (approximately $440 million) worth of LVMH shares through Financière Agache and Christian Dior SE, aiming to push his family’s stake above 50% of the company’s share capital.
• Axel Dumas said Jeffrey Epstein repeatedly pressed him to meet between 2013 and 2016, including by appearing uninvited at a Hermès workshop visit, while the company declined further contact and refused to honor a charity auction prize he won.
• The European Union has adopted new Ecodesign rules banning the destruction of unsold clothing and footwear for large companies starting on July 19 — for medium-sized firms, the ban starts in 2030. The rules also introduce mandatory public disclosure of discarded inventory starting in 2027, tightening oversight of a practice previously associated with brands including Burberry, H&M and Nike.

Listen in

On the Glossy Podcast, senior fashion reporter Danny Parisi and editor-in-chief Jill Manoff discuss the Super Bowl and Abercrombie’s role as the NFL’s official fashion partner. The episode features insights from Carey Collins Krug, CMO of Abercrombie & Fitch, on the brand’s partnership with the National Football League and its expansion into fashion shows, collections and in-stadium events. Listen here.

Read on Glossy

Why fashion brands at NYFW are embracing department stores. Confessions of a brand founder who previously worked with Saks. How an indie brand showed up at the Super Bowl.