Ginger

The New Mart Suite 707(213) 689-9620ginger@ginershowroom.com

When Ginger Vasquez moved from the fifth floor of The New Mart to the building’s seventh floor, she hired architect George P. Elian to create a look for her multiline showroom that would stand out.

Elian gave her something as futuristic as a spaceship and as intimate as a breakfast nook. The architect wrapped the showroom in a cocoon shape. Ethan Eller, general manager of The New Mart, described Vasquez’s new showroom as “one of the most unique and fascinating designs I have ever seen.”

The 1,200-square-foot space houses Vasquez’s contemporary lines, including Los Angeles–based labels Another and Pete and Greta. However, the showroom’s cocoon shape seems to be telling a story apart from commerce. It attempts to juggle the intimate feel of a private space with the kinetic energy of the fashion industry.

Vasquez and architect Elian hoped to craft a warm ambiance for the showroom by wrapping it in a cocoon shape. The cocoon is a shell of wood planks that covers the showroom’s floors and the ceiling. Soft light, as well as some track lighting, illuminates the space, provided by six bubble lamps hanging from the ceiling.

The intimate milieu is given another dimension with the showroom’s central area. The wide walk resembles a fashion-show runway, and a plasma screen exhibits images of the collections of the showroom’s clients.

Vasquez’s gamble on interesting architecture may have paid off. She said that her sales increased 30 percent when she debuted the showroom in June.

She said the design does not distract from the showroom’s garments. Instead, the design gets buyers to stay longer and take more time looking at the garments. Wholesale price points range from $39 for a T-shirt by Australian label Metallicus to $425 for a leather jacket by Los Angeles–based 3J Workshop. —Andrew Asch