Australian intimates brand Kat the Label has opened its first New York City store on Friday. The opening marks a major milestone for the brand, as the SoHo flagship is its first U.S. retail expansion.
Founded by Kate Nixon in 2015, the brand has become known for its romantic sleepwear, feminine lace lingerie and thoughtful white bridal intimates collections. Since its inception, the brand has held various pop-ups in New York City; grown a celebrity following including Sabrina Carpenter, Kylie Jenner and more, and celebrated the 100 year anniversary of Marilyn Monroe via a special capsule collection in May.
In addition to its own stores and e-commerce, the brand’s retail partners include Revolve, Anthropologie, Free People, Shopbop, Urban Outfittters, Nordstrom and more.
“We had a lot of brides coming in [to the New York City pop-up in May] for their getting ready looks or little PJ sets for their bridesmaids, holidays and honeymoons. It was a really good way to test that customer. Online, we’ve had a great U.S. presence over the last couple of years and it’s growing really quickly, but to have that physical in-person, in-touch experience has been really exciting. A more permanent store seemed like the natural next step for us,” Nixon told WWD.
She explained the New York store pays into the Australian brand’s overall vision, as seen through its Melbourne flagship, with shades of cool blue and contrasting espresso brown filling its interiors.
“We wanted colors that made the lingerie pop. I would say it’s beautiful, chic and looks really expensive, but then the price point of our product is still really quite affordable. We even had our Aussie interior designer come over to bring it all to life,” she added of working with Melbourne-based Angus Edward Interior Design Office to design the sister store.
The 1,076-square-foot-space, located at 242 Lafayette Street, features its lingerie, sleepwear and bridal collections, including the brand’s new holiday collection, plenty of all white ensembles and bestsellers, including the Maverick, Nicolette and Sofia bras and the ever-popular Celeste slipdress. The New York flagship also features a private bridal suite, open for booking for private styling experiences starting Nov. 1.
“The brand’s always been about not being too overly sexualized or targeted toward men buying the pieces for girlfriends and things like that. Our focus is always on female gaze across our beautiful products, advertising and social media. I think it’s an extra something to make you feel really special, even if you can’t see it and it’s underneath. We love to make people feel empowered and competent,” Nixon said of her brand.
Anna Metcalfe, head of marketing and growth, added upon opening, Kat the Label is offering a gift from friends of the brand, including Emmi Jay, with purchase alongside coffee, matcha and flower giveaways.
“It’s such an exciting time. We’ve really enjoyed stepping into the retail space although it wasn’t something originally I’d thought of 10 years ago when I started the brand. It was very online focused, but I think this in-person touch point has been amazing,” Nixon said. “Hopefully [we’ll open] a couple more stores across Australia, and we’d love more in the U.S. of course.”