Guess Takes on Big Apple

Guess? Inc. is living large in its New York flagship store, which debuted Feb. 17.

The two-story, 13,000-square-foot space, located at 575 Fifth Ave. at 47th Street, is the Los Angeles–based lifestyle brand’s biggest outlet. As of Oct. 20, 2010, the company owned and operated 473 retail stores in the United States and Canada. It operates 880 retail stores overseas.

The two-story emporium houses its women’s collection and accessories on its first floor. The second floor hosts a new dress section and the full men’s collection.

A visitor walking into the store will see a 12-foot-high LED screen showing Guess fashion shows. There will be an elevated runway on the store’s first floor and a denim rug made from more than 500 vintage denim jean patches.

The Fifth Avenue flagship features Venetian plaster and silver-leaf wall coverings, custom-made chandeliers and an elevator draped in black chain mesh.

The Guess brand was founded in 1981 by Georges Marciano, who left the company in 1993. “We’ve come a long way since designing our first pair of jeans, and opening this store is one way of celebrating our accomplishments over the past 30 years,” said Paul Marciano, the company’s vice chairman and chief executive officer.—Andrew Asch