Nishane (Istanbul) has opened its first boutique in the U.S., in New York’s Nolita district. Located at 239 Elizabeth St., the store is the first permanent American space for a perfume brand that was previously available in America at independent shops, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom.
“The New York boutique represents an important next step in this journey,” Mert Güzel and Murat Katran, the brand’s founders and creative directors, said in a joint statement. “It will serve as a base for Nishane in the U.S., bringing our fragrances, storytelling and craftsmanship directly to clients while creating a platform for events, launches and deeper relationships with the broader U.S. market.”
The project’s backers say the boutique’s design translates Nishane’s Istanbul identity into a contemporary setting, drawing on the contrasts of the city: heritage and modernity, East and West, refinement and creative energy.
More specifically, reflective stainless-steel surfaces are designed to create the calm of a gallery, while deep green tiles and warm light bring richness and a quiet echo of Istanbul’s architecture. Illuminated displays present each fragrance as an individual work, the name of its city engraved on the bottle, beneath golden caps inspired by the turning of whirling dervishes.
The centerpiece of the center is a circular digital table which can be surrounded by seating that invites discovery, conversation, consultation and time spent with each scent on the skin. Fragrance advisors accompany every visit, from a first introduction to private consultations by appointment.
“Every Nishane fragrance begins with a place, a memory or an encounter. New York has given us many of those over the years. Opening on Elizabeth Street gives those stories a home in the city, and the chance to share them in person,” say Güzel and Katran.
The New York opening follows the debut earlier this year of the brand’s first boutique in London, on Maddox Street.