SoCal Waves Crash on Fifth Avenue

The great electronic facade of HCo. Fifth Avenue (image source)

As if one HCo. location wasn't enough, Abercrombie & Fitch has now opened doors to a second HCo. locale on Manhattan island! To set it apart from the EPIC flagship in SoHo, this Fifth Avenue location boasts a massive electronic facade that displays live feed from Huntington Pier. The overall effect makes a bold distinction from the typical of Fifth Avenue store fronts, and people just can't help slowing down and staring: SoCal waves are crashing on Fifth Avenue! The technology is nothing new, of course. In December 2004, Chanel made headlines in the architectural world when it revealed the facade of its groundbreaking location, in Tokyo's swanky Ginza shopping district (now also home of A&F Ginza), which incorporates the technology utilized on HCo's facade on a much grander scale. However, the inclusion of such technology on presentation definitely says much on A&F's part - a devotion to continually project its brands' images to a new level of cool.

668 Fifth Avenue, address to the newest SoCal Pier, was initially acquired by A&F back in 2008 with the intention to open an abercrombie kids flagship store there. When profits continued to slum as the recession dragged on, the kids brand was dissed: It obviously would not be able to bring in sufficient revenue to make up for the expense of the location (one of the most expensive on the avenue). Operation Moose went out the window and plan Hot-Surfers was introduced shifting gears faster than you can scream, "ABS!!!" Another HCo. only a short distance from EPIC in SoHo? Apparently, EPIC's 40,000 square feet of SoCal goodies is not sufficient enough to satisfy an entire city, let alone an island. That should really place the brand's momentum in perspective for you! And with HCo. continuing to surf in profits, all thanks to its sexy-cool Cali image, success is quite eminent my dear surfers.

While the attraction of any flagship store has typically always been the interior - yeah, you know you only go to check out the hot models than for the actually clothing itself! - the real gem of HCo. Fifth Avenue is the awe-inspiring view of electronic waves...

UPDATE: Hollister now has a sweet photo album of the opening day! Check out HCo EPIC 5th Ave Store Opening!