Just in time for the holidays, Southern California-based global lifestyle brand, UGG, debuts a new flagship store at 530 Fifth Avenue in New York City (on the corner of 45th Street). This new concept marks the first of its kind, and the first of a curated fleet of flagship stores that will be rolled out in 2021 and beyond.
Built to reflect the brand’s evolution from the iconic classic boot to a full lifestyle brand that offers an expansive collection of footwear, ready-to-wear, accessories and home, the multi-level, 12,842 square foot store reflects and reimagines the brand’s California roots.
UGG has always been an emotional brand because of the way it makes you feel, and the new design is meant to transcend reality to characterize both the emotion and warmth of the California lifestyle that captivates the world.
To celebrate the first flagship store in NYC and connect with the local community, UGG regionalized their holiday “Feel Love” campaign and features three courageous New York-based real-life heroes.
Kimberly Llanto followed her mother into nursing. She started her career in 2019, as an acute surgical nurse, but when the pandemic happened in New York, she quickly transitioned to caring for COVID-19 patients. She spent six months as a COVID-19 ICU nurse and began using her social channels to encourage and support nursing students and new nurses during this challenging time.
As Melba Wilson likes to say, she was “born, bred, and buttered in Harlem.” She’s the owner of Melba’s Restaurant, the president of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, and a board member of the Opportunity Charter School and Harlem Park to Park. To help her community through the pandemic, Wilson has been providing family-style meals at a discounted rate, and set up fundraising efforts to support her staff while restaurants were shuttered.
Native Kentuckian Colin Spoelman is a trained architect and founder of Kings County Distillery in Brooklyn. When the pandemic hit, he switched over the distillery’s production facilities to make hand sanitizer, and distributed 15,000-plus bottles throughout the five boroughs to frontline workers and anyone that asked.
