Barneys is back — but there’s a catch.
The beloved department store, which shuttered in 2020, is returning for a limited run on Prince Street in SoHo thanks to the beauty brand Hourglass Cosmetics, which was introduced to the masses by way of the heritage department store two decades prior.
“Barneys was such an iconic New York institution and we were all so sad when it disappeared,” Hourglass founder Carisa Janes told Vogue.
“It was like a family. They were in it with you—the highs, the lows—they were like parents, the mentors and bosses there. It was just an incredible way to start a business and have all that support.”
The 1,500-square-foot pop-up shop — paying homage to Barneys’ downtown roots before it relocated uptown on Madison Avenue — will be open for five weeks only, beginning on Sept. 5 to kick off New York Fashion Week with a slew of events and experiences for visitors to “come on a journey with us,” Janes said.
The location will also feature an Hourglass Cosmetics beauty bar on site, stocked with legacy and limited edition products, and customers will be able to browse items from Marc Jacobs, Thom Browne, Khaite and more.
“The whole idea behind this project is really honoring and celebrating where we came from, and then passing the baton to the next generation,” Janes said. “We feel strongly that Barneys helped us and now, let’s pay it forward. It’s time.”
The notoriously swanky Barneys New York closed on Feb. 23, 2020, after 97 years in business. While famed department store had previously filed for bankruptcy and closed multiple stores, it had become a household name and pillar of fashion for Manhattan characters on “Friends,” “Sex and the City” and “Seinfeld.”
“Barneys acted as a connective tissue in the New York creative scene. It was where in-the-know people went to shop… gaze at fantastic windows designed by Simon Doonan, and snack on french fries and Niçoise salads at Fred’s,” a Vogue writer penned when the store was near its closure in 2019, positing that its financial falters were a product of the e-commerce boom.
But in January, Curbed reported that the vacant space on Seventh Avenue where Barneys once stood will eventually become luxury condos — although fans can revisit its magic from Sept. 5 until Oct. 11 at 14 Prince Street.
