New project at downtown Seattle store promotes five designers that are just getting started.
Nordstrom SPACE was conceived almost two years ago as a store-within-a-store that promoted emerging designers. In only a select number of Nordstrom stores — including downtown Seattle — SPACE has featured designers such as Demna Gvasalia, Ellery and Simone Rocha.
The problem was, the brands were growing fast, and the emerging designers seemed more like established talent.
Enter “The Lab,” launching today (Feb. 21) at five SPACE locations and at nordstrom.com/spacelab. Conceived and curated by Olivia Kim, Vice President of Creative Projects at Nordstrom, The Lab aims to step back even more to promote brands that are just starting out. Really, really just starting out.
“The Lab is for the designers who have just launched their collections, did their first show, maybe used their friends as models and showed in a basketball court in the Lower East Side. It’s true, authentic and they’re creating beautiful collections that we want to share with our customers,” Kim says.
New designers will be featured each season. The first set includes Eckhaus Latta, Vejas, Eric Schlösberg, A.W.A.K.E. and Dilara Findikoglu. Scroll through the slideshow to see work from these emerging talents, or check them out in person at the downtown Seattle Nordstrom.