Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
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Corte has perhaps the best understanding of what makes Newbury Street unique: The Experience. few first ladies. Fiandaca's success showed that Bostonians were looking for finely-made, eye-catching clothing, and fashion-minded locals such as Riseman seized the opportunity to open their own boutiques on Newbury Street as fashion moved through the quickly changing 1960s. THE RISE OF INDEPENDENT BOUTIQUES " The architectural shapes of the clothing coming out of Paris in the '60s were revolutionary," remembers Willett. "Fashion went from a looser chemise style in the late '50s to shorter dress lengths and mini skirts in the '60s." At the same time, Jackie Kennedy was garnering additional attention for her carefully chosen wardrobe of Oleg Cassini, Chanel, and Givenchy, as well as a diplomatic mix of American designers, including Connecticut-born Donald Brooks. Customers wanted to emulate Kennedy's clean silhouettes and A-line dresses, and designers, such as Willett and Fiandaca, reflected this in their clothing with matching skirt suits and dresses that had an easy movement to them. Riseman seized on this exciting time in fashion and opened Apogee in 1966 at 112 Newbury, ushering in a new era for the street as she sought out designers that hadn't yet appeared in Boston. At that time, few boutiques existed beyond the first block, which then contained three furriers, a few hair salons, and a few stores such as the women's clothier Charles Sumner, where for years Riseman had worked as a buyer. "Opening Apogee was a real risk since it was one of the first boutiques beyond Berkeley Street," says Riseman, who opened the store at her husband's urging after years of working for other people. Customers were drawn to Apogee for its mix of high-end, cutting-edge styles from designers such as Roberto Cavalli, Vivienne Westwood, and Kenzo, and superb customer service. Parking was a challenge even then; Apogee sales staff would regularly drive customers' cars around the block so they could shop in peace. When business was slow, the store teamed up with local makeup artists and hairdressers to host special events—de rigueur now, but a novelty then. The 1970s was a time of change for women, as they entered the workforce in large numbers and found work-appropriate clothing in ladies versions of the blazers and matching suits that men wore, with skirts replacing pants. Talbots (founded in Hingham), which opened in the 1940s, and Ann Taylor in the 1950s, supplied women with basic office wear outside the city. Fashionable women flocked to local Newbury Street boutiques such as Martini Carl for trendy "off-duty" pieces made by local and international designers, while others held firm to the styles of Jackie Kennedy. Riccardi, a boutique for men's and women's clothing, was opened in 1978 at 116 Newbury by a 30-year-old Florentine immigrant, Riccardo Dallai. He offered customers cutting-edge designers such as Jean-Charles de Castelbajac and Thierry Mugler. "Anything made in Italy did really well in Boston in the '70s," remembers Dallai, who also courageously brought Italian denim into the States. "It was insane to bring European denim here at that time because America was known for its denim. But I sold Diesel jeans when the store opened, and they did well." Bespoke clothing didn't disappear, however, and the rise of these small, supportive boutiques helped pave the way for '80s-era designers like Newton- based Geoffrey B. Small, who delivered avant-garde, hand-sewn creations to celebrities like Bonnie Raitt and New Kids on the Block. The Fairmont Copley Plaza hotel's current designer-in-residence Denise Hajjar also came onto the 112 BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM scene during this time, and went on to dress actors, politicians, musicians, and "pretty much all" the Boston news anchors. Locally-owned boutiques continued to blossom with Serenella and Alan Bilzerian claiming bustling spots on Newbury Street and being the first to introduce new designers such as Dolce & Gabbana and Moschino in the early 1980s. With the flood of good-time spending that characterized the 1980s and late '90s, international brands such as Chanel, Burberry, and Giorgio Armani opened their doors on Newbury, even as national powerhouse brands like Guess and Victoria's Secret took up residence. The international brands drew even more independent and local designers, as well as boutiques, to Newbury as the street continued to grow and attract well-heeled customers. MODERN DESIGNS D esigner Jackie Fraser-Swan, who sells her high-end, contemporary wom- enswear label Emerson Collection out of her showroom on Newbury Street, is one of the latest internationally lauded designers who has no current plans for relocating to New York, though she shows her collections on the runway during New York's Fashion Week. "I feel pretty grounded where I am," says the South Shore native, who started sketching clothing at the age of 8, and opened her showroom in July 2010. "I just want to make something special, and I don't need to be in New York to do that." After a semester at the School of Fashion Design on Newbury Street in 2009, she launched Emerson Collection, named after ancestor Ralph Waldo Emerson, at 8 Newbury. Her asymmetrical, punk/artistic pieces have already appeared in spreads in top fashion magazines like Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. Just a few blocks away, one of Fraser-Swan's contemporaries, Daniela Corte, agrees with this Boston-centric perspective. "Boston is an attainable, cozy, and fun city. I design for that," says the Argentina-born designer, who first came to Boston for school and stayed after she met her husband. Following years of custom work for local clients—she launched her business by making pants for friends—Corte opened a studio on Newbury Street to sell colorful fitted dresses, structured coats, and swimwear that regularly graces the pages of Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues. Though her custom line is favored by women who want clothes that show off their feminine curves, her new retail space has allowed her to expand her offerings beyond her own ready-to-wear pieces. Among local designers, Corte has perhaps the best understanding of what makes Newbury shopping unique: the experience. Her gallery-like boutique space complements the plush modern atelier above, where clients go for custom fittings CRAFTING A MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE B oston saw the global economic downturn shutter stores in the recent years, but not just small retailers; Pottery Barn and Borders closed their doors on Newbury Street in 2009 and 2011. Perhaps it was Newbury Street correcting itself. Gone are many of the shops we can find in malls across the nation. Instead, Newbury Street is returning to its roots as a designer shopping destination with unique stores. Sixty-five years after Bonwit Teller brought domestic and international fashion designers to Boston, Newbury Street remains a destination of high style and singular experience—though it may be harder today to find a sales assistant willing to drive your car around the block while you shop. BC