It’s a crisp October day. There’s an autumnal aura in the air as fashion lovers take a walk down Fifth Avenue in the heart of Manhattan, past the gaping void that was once the notorious department store, Barneys New York. However, this time, it looks different. Is that an orange sign hanging from the scaffolding?
Witches and ghosts aside, the spookiest thing this season is the fact that the skeleton of Barneys, every New Yorker’s beloved shopping destination, has now been turned into a temporary Spirit Halloween Store.
A place where you could walk in and purchase the latest Dior Saddle Bag or a fresh pair of Louboutin heels is now where every New York City child will acquire vampire fangs, a minion costume, or fake blood.
We’re all privy to Spirit Halloween, I can assume. We’ve all driven past that abandoned supermarket in our hometowns that transforms every mid-September into a gaudy, over-the-top, one-stop-shop for all of your Halloween necessities.
The dichotomy of a Spirit Halloween Store taking over what was once considered one of New York’s most esteemed luxury shopping destinations and may have been turned into a meme. However, I find it simply depressing.
This takeover is the epitome of the department store’s downfall. It truly shows us as consumers how our choices are leading to the death of what were once brick-and-mortar conglomerates. Especially emerging out of the pandemic, storefronts with strong in-person shopping experiences are pretty much doomed.
To combat this impending fate, many former competitors of Barneys’ are separating their e-commerce business from their brick-and-mortar business. During their closure, Saks Fifth Avenue, who acquired Barneys’ recently made headlines for splitting their online presence into a separate entity from their stores over the summer. The Wall Street Journal reports that Saks Fifth Avenue has about $1 billion in annual Saks.com sales, a cushion that will allow the company to maintain their business while many storefronts around them are crumbling.
There’s something sacred about the grounds that once held such an esteemed fashion landmark. The place that once housed the American debut of brands such as Comme des Garçons, Armani, and many more iconic designers.
How can it be possible that this location now houses latex Catwoman suits and clown masks?
All jokes aside, this move truly solidified the death of what retail used to be. In five years, who knows what the in-store shopping experience will be due to the highly digitalized world we live in today. Left in its wake is a haunted, tacky graveyard, where true fashion has gone to die.
Words by Olivia Hawkins.
Graphic by Maria Sofia Motta.