On the eve of the official start to New York Fashion Week, Philipp Plein celebrated the opening of his first Plein Sport pop-up shop in the U.S. on Thursday night.
Located at 119 Spring St. in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan, the new store serves as the physical interpretation of the Plein Sport truck, which officially debuted in June at Milan Fashion Week Men’s.
Since the unveiling, the mobile pop-up has been traveling across Europe to several cities to bring consumers the full offering of the brand. And now, this store, which mirrors design elements seen inside the truck, brings the full range of Plein Sport’s sneaker and sportswear offering – along with its sneaker NFTs and Timex watch collaboration – to a storefront in NYC.
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According to Plein, who spoke to FN in an exclusive interview before the celebration last night, this opening marks the start of the brand’s global expansion, having opened several stores in Europe with more on the way.
But, as he also noted, he wasn’t planning on launching Plein Sport in the U.S. until 2024, and the expansion just fell into place, as the Spring St. space was originally meant to house his main Philipp Plein collection. However, permitting delays caused him to pivot to the Plein Sport concept.
Regardless of his intentions, Plein is not stopping his U.S. retail plans. The founder and creative director added that a Plein Sport pop-up in Beverly Hills will open in “three to four weeks,” as well as a slate of additonal European doors.
“We have more locations coming in Italy and Spain, three more in France and five more in Germany already planned for this year,” Plein noted.
And while the initial NYC pop-up is slated to last for three months, Plein told FN that he has signed a 10-year lease for the Spring St. space and has plans to further develop it, most likely for his main Philipp Plein label.
Asked if we could see the mobile truck concept here in the U.S., Plein who is self-funding this expansion, said: “Absolutely, 100%. But the time would need to be right.”
“We are limiting our investments right now in the U.S. as we carefully look for the right locations,” Plein added. “America is a very competitive market, especially when it comes to sneakers. But we are here, and I’m really excited about it.”
