BERGDORF GOODMAN: ANNIVERSARY OF AN ICON
O P P O S I T E PA G E : R I C K Y Z E H A V I A N D J O H N C O R D E S
THE WINDOW DISPLAYS, a spectacle of fashion and art. The restaurant, the social apogee for the ladies who lunch. The shoe department, where polite women turn into vicious predators. Bergdorf Goodman is one of New York City’s crown jewels, and this idiosyncratic gem is celebrating its 111th anniversary. Why 111? The number one seems symbolic for a store that has no other locations and a peerless position in the fashion world. “Bergdorf Goodman has not only been a landmark to my career, but a landmark for almost every other important designer,” says Oscar de la Renta. “It is a very unique store. You know, my only regret is that there is only one Bergdorf Goodman.” This standard of style was founded in 1901 by partners Herman Bergdorf (a talented Alsatian tailor) and Edwin Goodman (a merchant with insatiable ambition). Goodman eventually bought out his partner and moved to the famous Beaux-Arts building on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th street. Generations of Goodmans lived in the opulent penthouse above the store until 1993, and although the business was bought by the Neiman Marcus Group, the family still owns the building, giving credence to the feeling that people are shopping in someone’s sumptuous home.
C O U RT E S Y O F B E R G D O R F G O O D M A N , T H E L I B R A RY O F C O N G R E S S
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