Barneys Opens Upscale Doors in O.C.

What do Kathleen Turner, Mick Jagger and Jill Brotherton have in common? They all shop at Barneys New York, the trend-setting clothier and undisputed fashion mecca of the Big Apple’s upper crust and upwardly mobile.

Brotherton, a Dana Point resident, joined the ranks of the chic and well-heeled last weekend when Barneys opened the doors of its new store in South Coast Plaza, its first in California.

“Isn’t this one fun!” she grinned, holding up the Mondrian-patterned rayon shirt by Camicia of Italy that she was buying for her husband’s birthday. “I already have a present for him, but I fell in love with this.”

Within half an hour of opening, the store was crammed with eager shoppers, many of whom were already familiar with Barneys’ reputation for being on fashion’s cutting edge.

“I have been waiting for this shop to open for about a year,” said Lois McCauley, who drove down from Long Beach for the opening. “Barneys is one of my favorite shops in New York. I visit it every time I go there. It’s so with the times.”

The 7,500-square-foot store is on the second level in the Nordstrom wing. It is the latest addition in Henry Segerstrom’s grand plan to upgrade the caliber of his tenant mix in South Coast Plaza.

Barneys New York joins a growing roster of prestigious names that have been lured to South Coast Plaza in recent years. Segerstrom’s A-list of tenants now includes such retailing glitterati as Tiffany & Co., Alfred Dunhill, Cartier, Gucci, Luis Vuitton, Charles Jourdan, Yves Saint Laurent and, in the fall, Chanel.

The store with the name more redolent of an Irish pub than an upscale clothier is named after its founder, Barney Pressman, who opened a 500-square-foot men’s clothing store in Manhattan in 1923. Forty years later, Barneys had become the largest men’s clothing store in the world.

In 1968 the Pressman family transformed Barneys into a fashion leader by making it the first men’s store in America to feature European designers. In 1976, a women’s department was added. Today the Pressman family runs a 170,000-square-foot fashion and accessory emporium in Manhattan’s Chelsea district that generates more than $100 million in sales each year.

Two of Barneys grandsons, Gene and Robert Pressman, head the new Barneys America retail company which plans to open five or six Barneys New York stores annually over the next five years, a move which, they project, will double the company’s sales volume. Two weeks ago, they opened their first West Coast store in Seattle. A 100,000-square-foot Beverly Hills Barneys is scheduled to open in 1992.

“We identified Orange County as one of the fastest-growing retail markets in America,” said Michael Hofman, the company’s vice president and director of stores. “We knew we wanted to be in South Coast Plaza. We were just waiting for the right space to open up.”

On March 17, Barneys will officially welcome itself to Orange County by presenting a jean jacket auction and exhibition to benefit the Newport Harbor Art Museum. Renowned designers and artists, among them Billy Al Bengston, will customize the jackets, which will be on display at the museum before the event.

Although the new store is only a fraction of the size of the New York flagship, the unmistakable Barneys touch is intact. Blrims in the hat department sport fanciful crinkles, and the signature shoe collection features such designers as Stephane Kelian of Paris whose cinnamon suede pump sports an unlikely flourish of fruit, shells, coral and an enormous silk organdy bow.

Jewelry cases display one-of-a-kind designs by artists including New York-based Lisa Jenks, who created a singular collection of picture frames, powder compacts and paperweights in pewter to complement her earrings and necklaces. And at the cosmetics counter, customers will find such esoterica as Molton Brown’s seaweed anti-static setting lotion alongside the more prosaic lipsticks and scented candles.

“We don’t think that fashion is such a deadly serious pursuit,” said Anne Ball, Barneys merchandise manager. “We like that air of lightness.”

Because much of the store’s pre-opening publicity was peppered with words like expensive , snobbish and exclusive , it would have been easy to mistake Barneys for yet another purveyor of overpriced Ralph Lauren clone-wear for the yuppie set, yet nothing could be further from the truth.

The store showcases some of the world’s most avant-garde designers. It was Barneys, after all, that introduced designer Giorgio Armani into America back in 1976.

“Barneys is truly a risk-taking store,” agreed Maura Eggan, South Coast Plaza’s director of marketing, who was on hand for the store’s opening. “Because they nurture new designers, they always carry wonderful, innovative clothes.”

In addition to Barneys’ usual roster of top designers including Comme De Garcons, Jean Paul Gaultier and Byblos, the South Coast Plaza store will also feature prominent West Coast designers. Peter Cohen of Los Angeles has designed an exclusive line for the new Barneys.

And in a quiet alcove at the back of the store, Barneys is showcasing a collection of its own private label clothes, many of which are designed and tailored in Italy.

In a break from its New York retail outlet, 75% of the merchandise in the Costa Mesa store is targeted toward women because they make up 75% of South Coast Plaza’s customers. And in a nod to Southern California’s less formal life style, both the men’s and women’s apparel lines tend more toward casual styling and sportswear.

Back East, where designer outfits at Barneys are often priced over $1,000, the store is touted as the most expensive in New York. But for South Coast Plaza regulars, a $150 silk blouse or $200 Italian pump is par for the shopping course. For all the hoopla about high New York prices, Orange County shoppers will find Barneys prices moderate. A range of 100% cotton men’s T-shirts in hot spice colors with tailor-finished necklines and sleeves sell for $28.

Jill Brotherton, who paid $58 for her husband’s imported designer shirt, was now admiring a whimsical wine-colored blouse by London designer Sara Sturgeon. Made of washed silk habitai (silk moleskin to you and me) it featured an asymmetrical shawl collar. She found the $106 price reasonable.

“It’s worth it for the quality alone, but toss in the uniqueness factor and it’s a bargain,” she said. “I’m so tired of the repetitiousness of the stores here. Who wouldn’t be willing to pay a little extra to get something you don’t see on everyone on every corner?”

If Saturday was any indication, South Coast Plaza shoppers are ready for something a little different. As Michael Hofman watched them press two and three deep around the cashier’s desk, he admitted that sales were well ahead of projections after only two hours.

Not everyone who came to Saturday’s opening was there to shop. “May I help you?” a young saleswoman asked one couple dressed to the teeth in Orange County chic.

“No thanks,” said the man sheepishly. “We’re just spying.”