Goodman designed the ultimate hobble skirt, ultimate in both style and discomfort, which gained him instant success. But despite the demand, he opted to discontinue the item. He decided that discomfort was not style, nor was fad to be confused with fashion.
Believing that women should be comfortable in their clothes, he found a way to maintain the elegant lines of the hobble skirt while using a box pleat in the back to provide greater freedom of movement.
It was just the first step Goodwin would take in liberating women from the restrictive clothing of the day. He led the way in exposing the neck, abandoning the jabot, a boned article that practically choked the wearer. In an even more daring move, Goodman exposed the ankle. Goodman began to build an exclusive clientele but by he was still a ladies' tailor operating out of a cramped salon on a side street.
In order to take the next step he decided to move further north on Fifth Avenue to larger accommodations. He found a brownstone at Fifth Avenue, located where Rockefeller Center stands today.
After acquiring the property, he razed the brownstone and commissioned a five-story building to replace it. Unsure that his business would be able to support that large a structure, he hedged his bets by renting out much of it. Goodman's fears turned out to be unwarranted. He outgrew his salon in little more than a decade, the result of a major contribution to the fashion industry--championing high-quality, ready-to-wear garments. He recognized that women's lives were changing and that they simply did not have the necessary time to devote to fittings.
He also believed that ready-to-wear clothing did not have to be second-rate merchandise, a point he made repeatedly to manufacturers he visited, browbeating them into producing garments worthy of his fashionable clientele. After taking the initial steps into quality ready-to-wear garments in the early s, Goodman was greatly assisted in expanding the business by his children, Andrew and Ann, and their friend Bernard Newman.
All under the age of 25, these enfants terribles would have a major impact on the garment industry and the growth of Bergdorf Goodman. In large part their success was the result of Goodman's habit of personally waiting on his customers, despite the growing prestige of his business.
His children followed his example and by interacting with customers learned what they wanted. They also participated in Bergdorf Goodman's semiannual sales, visiting the stock rooms to mark down items and in the process taking note of which items sold well and which ones failed to live up to expectations. When rumors about the building of Rockefeller Center began to circulate, Goodman's friend and real estate broker Leo Fishel and entrepreneur Fred Brown found a new home for Bergdorf Goodman at its current Fifth Avenue location.
It was uncertain whether customers would follow the store uptown, and once again Goodman played it safe by having the new store designed so that it could be broken up into sections that could be sublet if needed. The precaution, as it turned out, was not necessary.
With the advent of the Depression Goodman was able to forego his lease and buy the building outright, as well as pick up the mortgages of the surrounding businesses that did not fare as well during the s.
The real estate arm of Bergdorf Goodman eventually purchased the entire block. His business was prosperous enough that Goodman could have opened other stores under the Bergdorf Goodman banner, but he firmly believed that by operating in a single location he could better maintain the quality of merchandise and level of service that was instrumental in his success.
The store was already well established with New York society, as well as the merely wealthy, but Andrew was instrumental in enhancing its reputation and expanding its range of merchandise and personalized services.
According to Crain's New York Business, he "took the business to new heights as a fashion destination in the s and s. It also opened a Bergdorf Goodman satellite store in White Plains, New York, but by the company decided to convert it to a Neiman Marcus store, which management felt was more "adaptable" to a suburban location.
In the late s there was talk of opening Bergdorf Goodman stores in other cities, such as Boston and Washington, D. The Fifth Avenue store, in the meantime, continued to thrive.
In the s Bergdorf Goodman was in the vanguard of fashion, among the first to recognize new European and American designers and especially important in bringing attention to Milan designers, such as Giorgio Armani, Gianfranco Ferre, and Krizia.
Bergdorf Goodman's parent company became the object of takeover bids in the s, and as a way to fend off these advances, Carter Hawley restructured its business. Bergdorf Goodman continued to operate as a single location business with little interference from Dallas.
I promptly went home and started sketching out the designs for what would become my first collection—fall Her anointing of Kors helped establish him in New York—and then the world—and he has remained a B. Dawn and her team put me on the map.
Fifty-Seventh Street was my starting point, but now, almost 40 years later, the B. Having said that, the tips I had to dish out were absolutely bankrupting!
Bankrupting oneself at B. Princess Diana of Wales was a regular customer. First ladies too. However within the past few days, this agreement is being challenged by some lenders who are unhappy with the deal. Bergdorf Goodman seems far removed from the boardroom mess and it appears more focused on its future.
Neiman Marcus acquired Bergdorf Goodman in Since then the two stores have operated under separate management teams. COVID has spread to most countries around the world, claiming over , lives and infecting more than 3. It opened a store within the massive Hudson Yards project, where it serves as the main retail anchor. There were some initial concerns that the new Neiman Marcus could affect its sister store, Bergdorf Goodman, but those fears have not materialized.
Hudson Yards is a world apart from Fifth Avenue. The opulent department store defines the legendary lore of its nearby shopping district. Part of the brains and mystique behind Bergdorf Goodman during its earlier days was its former chairman, Andrew Goodman. He was a visible presence at society functions and on the store floor.
He devoted his life to the business and even lived in a room penthouse above the store. It continues to launch illustrious careers for fashion designers, just as it did with Halston, Isaac Mizrahi, and Romeo Gigli. Bergdorf Goodman is so unique to New York City that its only attempt at a branch store, back in , failed after six years.
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