Patron of the New.

Patron of the New. is über sexy.

A friend tipped me to the just-opened TriBeCa store last week, so I stopped in last weekend, on my way home from my ritual Saturday morning spinning class. Oh. My. God. Located on Franklin Street in a stunning, prototypical TriBeCa space–soaring ceilings, concrete floors, columns down the middle, beams across the top–Patron of the New. is an elegant celebration of all that is fabulous in smart, super high-end fashion.

You won’t find any names that you know here–or at least, not many, unless you eat, breathe and sleep fashion 24/7–but you will find gold-plated pedigrees–exquisite pieces for women and men by designers who trained at the feet of the names you do know: Karl Lagerfeld, Helmut Lang, Hedi Slimane, John Galliano, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Miuccia Prada–the best of the best. And if you are lucky, you will also find the man responsible for all of this gorgeousness: Al Abayan.

Al not only gathered the collection, he also designed the space, its fixtures, the lighting–everything–and clearly part of the store’s fabulousness comes from the fact that every inch of it reflects his personal attention to each detail of the experience. The heavy and light clothes, the multi-surfaced walls and floors, the leather and fiber accessories, the glass and matte brass lamps, the polished brass and black iron rails, all combine to create an exceedingly tactile environment that might be oppressive, if it weren’t for ample room that allows it all to breathe and flow.

There are still a few features to come, including anther long central table for jewelry in the main room that will also allow people to cater seated dinners for forty–the idea of that much fabulousness is almost unbearable–more home furnishings and accessories, and made-to-order cut flowers on the front stoop during the summer–a pitch perfect final note.

A few themes jump out in the line up of designers Al has assembled for Patron of the New.’s debut–a heavy European influence, sprinkled with a dose of Latin American and Asian culture and, perhaps unsurprisingly, an affinity for those who have architectural training in their backgrounds. A few of the lines that caught my eye, as Al walked me through the store: Nicolas Andreas Taralis, No Editions, Thimister and Gustavo Lins, leather jackets by John de Risi and Blancha, Siki Im for men, shoes by Établissement by Joachim de Callataÿ, boots by Nicolas Andreas Taralis, evening bags by Rocio and leather bags and satchels by Isaac Reina, who’s collaborated in the past with Maison Martin Margiela.

New York may not have realized it, but it’s been waiting on a store like Patron of the New. Welcome, über sexy.

Photos: Jaci Berkopec