Century 21, the Luxury Secret Weapon of TV Costume Designers, Returns
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Legendary costume designer Patricia Field helped conjure the indelible fashion fantasy of New York City through the Sex and the City franchise, Ugly Betty and Adventures of a Shopaholic, to name a few. Along with her stalwart team, the Pat in the City: My Life of Fashion, Style, and Breaking All the Rules author depended on Century 21 department stores to put together her signature looks. So, when the New York City mecca of discounted designer gems shuttered in September 2020, costume designers, and fashion-minded shoppers alike, mourned.
“Customers would walk up to me and ask me my opinion of what they were buying,” says Field, reminiscing about frequent visits to the original downtown location. “It felt like a family to me.”
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Now — similar to how And Just Like That (AJLT) takes Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) into updated, more enlightened but always exciting new adventures — Century 21 makes its much-anticipated return on May 16. With a refreshed name to boot, Century 21 NYC will be “focused on fashion” and is “more curated,” says head of merchandising Judy Duzich. She lists a “heavier” emphasis on luxury and contemporary brands, plus independent brands such as Rosetta Getty and NYC-based designers like Heron Preston and Willy Chavarria. The in-house luxury resale offerings include Chanel.
The hunt for designer treasures is also streamlined and much more efficient, with an intuitive layout over four floors and spacious fitting rooms. Checkout stations with express lanes are available on all floors near the exits. The interior also feels more modern, with chic gold accents along with pops of signature C21 red, plus an art installation by New York City-based artist Timothy Goodman.
“I spent a lot of my adult life with Patricia Field in Century 21,” says AJLT co-costume designer and SATC-alum Molly Rogers. While filming The Devil Wears Prada, she recalls inviting Emily Blunt on the Brit’s first-ever C21 shopping jaunt. Blunt was “game” to arrive when the doors opened at 7:45 a.m.; beating the Wall Street lunchtime hordes. “I was working,” says Rogers. “She was shopping for herself.” Fellow SATC- and Devil Wears Prada-vet Tracy L. Cox, now designing the Harlem-set Starz series Run the World, remembers scoring Stanley Tucci’s fashion editor fine knits and statement ties. “[C21 was] important to build a closet for a character,” says Cox.
Rogers remains proud of a green satin Vivienne Westwood mini-skirt, with a saucy tulle ruffle bustle at the back, which lives on in many “Carrie Bradshaw’s Most Iconic Outfits” lists. “Everybody cannot believe that we got it at Century 21,” says Rogers.
The original C21 downtown location is also immortalized in the sixth season of SATC, which recreated the store on a soundstage. Carrie, chatting on her pink bedazzled clamshell phone, declares browsing the racks “the best part of jury duty,” while clutching a “Dolce kimono” and an “unbelievable Anna Molinari dress.”
“She scored,” says Rogers, who, along with AJLT co-costume designer Danny Santiago, will unveil a special project with Century 21 NYC this summer. “You can never not score at Century. I have high hopes for the reboot.”
Century 21 NYC is open starting Tuesday at 22 Cortlandt Street.
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