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It seems Puget Sound Business Journal writer Jeanne Lang Jones might be a bit upset as she writes, “Now there's a further blow to Seattle fashionistas. The Bellevue Square Nordstrom is getting Prada (designer clothes as part of its remodel; the Seattle flagship store is not).” Jimmy Choo and Neiman Marcus will also be squatting in Bellevue, Jones notes.
Honestly, do Prada, Jimmy Choo and Neiman Marcus really feel like Seattle brands? Does Seattle want these companies populating its 7th and 5th Avenues? These brands thrive in the couture-crazed cities of New York, Milan and Los Angeles, so their venture to Bellevue seems fitting.
Most Seattle fashion is about unique boutiques (i.e. Adelita, Impulse and Sway & Cake) or the latest thrift store. Many believe Seattle’s eclectic following of organic fabrics and environmentally-friendly designs trump foreign luxury brands. Seattle boasts an intellectual and creative culture that prefers to dictate textiles as opposed to weakening to the mercy of Paris’ runway.
A five minute walk in downtown Bellevue will introduce you to enough high-end chain restaurants to fill your annual quota. Why not continue this theme with high-end chain clothing stores, hint Bellevue developers Schnitzer West and Kemper Freeman Jr. to the Puget Sound Business Journal. It is not a bad thing for Bellevue. In fact it will increase its tourism and revenues (hint, hint real estate investors).
We don’t think Seattle is missing out (besides a boost in city revenue) by letting $1,500 handbags fall over Bellevue’s shoulders. Hopefully this allows Seattle to hold on to its classy boutiques for a little longer. Perhaps a savvy Eastside entrepreneur will convince shoppers to think and buy local at a downtown Bellevue boutique, but for now, we will only see luxury brands expand throughout the Eastside’s shopping culture.
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Au contraire. It may be that the twenty-somethings wear Sway&Cake in Seattle, but I work with the forty-, fifty-, and sixty-something female elite of the city and they certainly still sport the classic labels. The upper crust of Seattle lusts after Prada, for sure... I'm not talking about lower Capitol Hill, or Fremont, or Ballard. I'm talking about Montlake, Madison, Sand Point, and upper Capitol Hill! That's where the money consistently comes from. There's plenty of money in Bellevue too, God knows (the Nordstroms family straddles the lake), but in the eyes of my clients, losing the classic truly high-end labels to Bellevue is yet another sign of the sad decay of Seattle.
PS. "High-end restaurant chains" in downtown Bellevue linked to "high end clothing chains"?? Wait. Wait! Marketing would be sad to read that sentence. What we're looking at is the Prada/Vuitton/etc set who eat at Canlis. That's the old money that expects Seattle to be as classy and classic as always. Even the money in Bellevue does not eat at PF Changs; it dines at Calcutta Grill, in Newport, or Bis on Main. It's a different set entirely than at Z'Tejas, Ruth's Chris, or Luciano. If it MUST eat at the mall, real money with class goes to Nordstrom Grill for a salad break. The people who shop in earnest for $700 handbags don't eat at The Cheesecake Factory, unless they're young and slumming it.
It's possible this class is dying out, but I wouldn't underestimate their influence on the near future of Seattle/Bellevue economy. It's all very interesting to me; our city is still quite class-bound.
PS... Of course their personal assistants do most of the shopping... So maybe everything I just said is null and void.
as someone who loves fashion, i'm embarrassed and annoyed by the mentality that just because we live in seattle means we don't need, crave or want up-to-date and cutting edge fashion. cities are supposed to be about being progressive, not the suburbs. and while i'm a little less concerned with labels and that i own "prada something," i am concerned with being in style and getting all options for something cute. now, if i can't find prada in seattle, it's the one-less hot-shoe option that's killing me.
and really, katelyn's correct. there's A TON of money in seattle. who do you think can afford all those mansions throughout the city? or the waterfront property? or even the uber trendy and upscale condos? i say bring them to the flagship AND bellevue, and reap double the benefits.
Part of the problem with the downtown Nordstrom getting Prada RTW would have been the proximity of other stores that carry Prada within two blocks. Namely, Mario's and Barneys pretty much have Seattleites covered in terms of their Prada needs. Mario's (just a block over) has carried Prada for quite some time, and their selection consists of several classic pieces that more conservative types like to wear, while Barneys (now across the street from Nordstrom) has a tightly-edited but more fashion-forward selection of Prada clothing. Between these two locations, there may not have been a need to oversaturate the two-block radius around downtown Nordstrom with even more Prada clothing. While there may be enough business to carry Prada shoes at all three of these places, the market for Prada RTW certainly requires a different kind of consumer.
Oh, and is that you Jeanna? Haha! That figures! You and I make up some of the most fashion-obsessed Seattleites around.