Lee Broom Launching E-Commerce, Lands Bergdorf Goodman Men’s Windows
FILL SWEEP: In time for next month’s NYCxDesign and on the heels of Frieze New York, Lee Broom will be joining forces with Bergdorf Goodman Men’s Store to design all four of its Fifth Avenue windows. The four-week run will start with the May 11 unveiling and will showcase his lighting, furniture and accessories with summertime men’s wear.
The multidisciplinary designer’s installation will hit midtown during the city’s high season for all things design. Frieze New York will have just ended a three-day run on Randall’s Island and NYCxDesign, the monthlong five-borough-wide event will be in full swing. Passersby and Bergdorf Goodman shoppers who decide they can’t live without having one of Broom’s creations will be able to find them in his SoHo showroom. Another option will be the designer’s online store, which is scheduled to go live next week.
Marking his 10th year in business, Broom creates 100-plus furniture, accessory and lighting designs biannually. In addition to designing 45 retail, restaurant and bar interiors, he has collaborated with such companies as Christian Louboutin and Mulberry. In fact, Broom has worn many hats in his career, which started in acting as a child and included a stint with The Royal Shakespeare Company. From there, his interest turned to fashion design. After winning the Young Fashion Designer of the Year award in 1993, he started an internship with Vivienne Westwood, who judged the event. Later studying women’s wear design at Central Saint Martins, Broom started a consulting business offering décor advice to earn some extra money. At the request of his friend and classmate Maki Aoki, he worked on a nine-month project for the interior design of the London bar Nylon. After the project was nominated for the Evening Standard Bar of the Year Award, Broom switched tracks, starting a business with Aoki called Makilee Design. Aoki’s decision to move back to Japan led to the start of Broom’s own business in 2007.
Broom plans to wing it to New York from London for next month’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair, which runs May 21-23 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. He will present the U.S. debut of his limited-edition collection of Jasperware for Wedgwood at his Greene Street showroom.
He won’t be the only well-established London-based designer with a foothold in New York’s luxury retail scene. A Tom Dixon pop-up shop is open at Barneys New York through the end of May.
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