FN rounds up all the store openings, closings and redesigns happening this month, from throughout the footwear industry. Send your retail news to [email protected].

Nov. 22, 2022: Allbirds has opened one of its biggest stores in the world today in Boston – its fifth retail site in the area. Located at the Prudential Center at 800 Boylston Street, the 3,700 square foot shop uses natural materials throughout the space, including a custom New England-sourced service desk, custom wood try-on chairs and displays, and uniquely shapped mirrors. The store also aims to pay homage to Boston through special edition wooden pins, inspired by The Fen’s turtle population, and tote bags celebrating the local yellow-crowned night heron. “Boston is really starting to feel like home for us at Allbirds, and we are so excited to be opening our fifth – and largest – store in the region,” said Allbirds co-founder and co-CEO Tim Brown. “Boston is a city that has always been at the cutting edge of cultural innovation, and we are delighted that locals have embraced our brand and mission.”

Nov. 18, 2022: H&M is opening a brand-new store experience in Brooklyn. Located in the heart of the Williamsburg neighborhood at 92 N. 6th Street, the over 7,000 square foot space opens on Nov. 18 and will remain open through January 2024.  A first of its kind in the world for the company, the experience is an invitation into the DNA of H&M – a destination that is experimental in design, progressive in programming and a place for the curious to explore style in a fun and community-focused setting. Featuring a curated selection of merchandise, H&M Williamsburg will also host exclusive programming and brand moments in a space designed to evolve throughout the year. Every 4-12 weeks the brand will unveil a new “chapter” with updated fashion, visuals, experiential events and a crop of celebrated, local neighborhood partners.

Nov. 16, 2022: Loewe has opened a new flagship store in Beverly Hills. Located at 327 N Rodeo Drive, the new 3,700 square-foot store features the Casa Loewe design concept established by creative director Jonathan Anderson. The handmade blue ceramic façade takes its place among the iconic buildings of Rodeo Drive, bringing the brand’s full offering of men’s and women’s ready-to-wear lines and accessories, accented by a curated selection of artworks from the Loewe collection. Art has always been central to the Loewe interior concept and the brand’s Rodeo Drive store will display a selection of works by international contemporary artists. Iranian-German artist Nairy Baghramian, known for her architectural and abstract representation of bodily forms, will present two works including Mooring (2016), her bright yellow, aluminum sculpture, and a monochromatic fiber-based print titled Portrait (The Concept-Artist’s Smoking Head, Stand-In) from 2016. The store will also include figurative works by Paul Pfeiffer, whose painted wood renderings of Justin Bieber’s head and arms will be on display.

Nov. 15, 2022: Balenciaga has opened a new flagship in Miami’s Design District, which combines its previously separate men’s and women’s boutiques. According to the luxury brand, this store is the largest Balenciaga store to-date in the United States. The two-story, 8,487-square foot flagship showcases the brand’s experiential Raw Architecture concept, in which codes of luxury retail are reevaluated and interiors are designed with respect to existing structural elements. Two backlit Balenciaga signs, one over each floor’s entrance, can be seen through a glass and chrome façade that unites other storefronts in the plaza. The cutting-edge design strategy, however, sets the store apart from its polished surroundings with cracked and crumbling concrete bricks, slabs showing traces of scrubbed graffiti, and tiled walls layered with synthesized residue. Inside, Art Deco-inspired flooring that echoes Miami’s historic architecture is chipped and peeling away. On another floor, a spill of enamel seeps under benches upholstered with an innovative cactus-based material. Throughout, patinas on displays and industrial railings are deployed as finishes, suspending the space in a state of conditionality. An original work by Charlotte Thrane is also on display, part of Balenciaga’s Art in Stores series.

Nov. 15, 2022: Palm Angels has opened its first pop-up store in Los Angeles, right in front of the Maxfield store. Conceived and designed with the offbeat lens of Palm Angels, the brand describes the Los Angeles boutique, located at 8818 Melrose Ave. in West Hollywood, as a space where customers can “live the brand in a true 360° experience” and will remain open for the next three weeks. In the center of the store, a palm tree stands as the “heart of the store” and a double nod to Los Angeles and the Palm Angels brand. Imagined as an “open box”, the Palm Angels pop-up aims to renew its collections every week, from an exclusive collection dedicated to Los Angeles and offered in a concrete installation entitled “You are exactly where you need to be”, to the Palm Angeles outerwear and ski-wear collection, to its Moon Boot capsule, and for the first time ever to a one-off jewelry collection of four single pieces crafted by the Londoner jeweler Duffy. The brand also highlights several collaborations, such as the 8 Moncler Palm Angels collection and the limited-edition collection of electric bikes and clothing launched with the Danish bike brand Mate Bike.

Nov. 15, 2022: Hunter Boots has teamed up with Nordstrom to expand its newly launched personalization service in the U.S. As the exclusive wholesale partner, Nordstrom will offer consumers the opportunity to make Hunter’s Original Rain Boots their very own via Nordstrom.com and kicks off with a pop-up in the Nordstrom NYC flagship starting Nov. 15 through Jan. 3, 2023. Shoppers can also head to Hunterboots.com to take part in the special, limited-time service. Hunter’s personalization service now allows customers the opportunity to put their name or the name of a loved one inside of the unmistakable Hunter red box logo on a range of different silhouettes and colorways. The Original Tall and Original Short Rain Boots are available for personalization for women and men. For kids, you can choose from the Kids First, Original Little Kids and Original Big Kids Rain Boots. You can add up to 8 characters per foot using your choice of the brand’s bestselling colors like black and Hunter red and bold new seasonal colors. Orders placed by Dec. 2 will be guaranteed to arrive before the holidays.

Nov. 15, 2022: Academy Sports + Outdoors has opened two new stores, one in Barboursville, W. Va., and one in Tampa Bay, Fla. The Barboursville store is over 60,000 square feet and is located at 30 Tanyard Station Drive, in Tanyard Station shopping center. The Tampa-area store at Pinellas Park is 50,000 square feet and is located at 7230 US Hwy 19 N. Both bring a full assortment of sports and outdoors merchandise to their communities ahead of the holiday season. Academy will host grand opening festivities from Friday, Nov. 18 through Sunday, Nov. 20 at both stores. Throughout the weekend, customers at each location can look forward to exclusive deals, giveaways, meet and greet appearances, activations by brands sold at Academy, food truck samples and take advantage of great prices. Academy has opened nine new stores in 2022. The Barboursville store marks the first in the state of West Virginia, and Pinellas Park marks the first Academy store in Tampa Bay and 14th in Florida. Academy plans to continue its expansion efforts beyond 2022, with the goal of opening 80 to 100 new stores over the next five years.

Nov. 14, 2022: Israeli shoe maker Naot has opened a new flagship store in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood as it looks to attract local shoppers and visitors to experience the comfort brand in person. “The opening of this flagship store allows us to show the breadth of the line and tell the story of Naot on a deeper level,” said Naot U.S. President Ayelet Lax Levy. “New York is my home and opening our flagship store here feels both exciting and personal. We will also be planning on donating shoes to a local charity as a way to embrace the local community.”

Nov. 9, 2022: Alexander Wang has opened a new pop-up shop in Miami. Located at 167 NE 39th Street in the heart of the city’s Design District, the 3,700 square foot shop aims to tell a story deeply rooted in the culture of the brand. The exterior is painted red with a traditional Chinese hip-and-gable roof at the entrance. Upon entering, a sea of wall-to-wall red carpet covers the space with red clear panels lining each wall. A fully custom-designed silver, crystal bed is the stand-out installation piece and will showcase imagery of the brand’s campaign stars. At the store, consumers can expect to find the label’s fall 2022, resort 2023 and bodywear collection in women and unisex sizing. “This opportunity in Miami was especially exciting knowing that it would coincide with Art Basel and playing with a concept that pushes the boundaries in a community that is known for innovation and art,” Wang said in a statement. “I want to present a conversation around culture clash in a district that is extremely dynamic and during a time when people from all over the globe come together to see what’s next.” Alexander Wang’s Miami pop-up will remain open through January.

Nov. 4, 2022: Rothy’s is expanding its New York store footprint. Today, the brand opens a shop on the Upper West Side in New York. Located at 181 Columbus Ave, the new Rothy’s outpost continues to represent its sustainable ethos with eco-friendly construction features. For instance, 100% recycled paint was used inside the store, there’s FSC-certified wood, rPET-infused plaster for the floors, rPET cushion covers for seating as well as reusable and modular window display props. Rothy’s on the Upper West Side is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET and on Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.

Nov. 3, 2022: Isabel Marant has opened her second menswear store in Paris. The new 60 square-meter (645 square-foot) store located at 1 rue Jacob is two levels and is inspired by the retro-pop aesthetic of the 1970s. Situated in the heart of Saint Germain des Prés, right in front from the new Isabel Marant women’s store on rue de Seine, this gallery-boutique showcases the brand’s menswear wardrobe alongside a selection of works from international designers. The space is echoing the recording studios of the ‘70s with pyramid-shaped reliefs on the walls, reminiscent of the recording booths insulation, here in textured concrete. Fitting rooms and metal shelves are dressed in natural fabrics to contrast with the industrial atmosphere. The designer, who opened her first boutique in Paris in the late nineties, now has 67 stores worldwide.