Rendering: Nordstrom — *Rendering: Nordstrom*

Nordstrom will introduce its new designer 'Space' concept to Canada next month when it opens its Vancouver flagship. The concept launches at three U.S. Nordstrom flagships this week, and already has a dedicated web presence.

Developed by former Opening Ceremony VP Olivia Kim, Space is a permanent shop-in-shop dedicated to emerging or otherwise unrepresented designers. Space's interiors will be striking with unique fixtures, candy-coloured interiors and pink mannequins. All designers carried in the shop are new to Nordstrom. Youthful labels such as Faustine Steinmetz and Vetements (finalists of the recent LVMH Prize) as well as LVMH prizewinner Marques’Almeida are carried in the department, as are rapidly establishing lines such as Simone Rocha, Creatures of the Wind and cult Japanese brands Noir Kei Ninomiya (part of the Comme des Garçons group) and Undercover. Accessories and fine jewelry brands featured include Adieu, Ileana Makri and Sophie Bille Brahe. Clothing and accessories are shown together because "if it goes together, it shows together", according to Ms. Kim.

*Click image to go to Space's section of the Nordstrom.com website, including a full list of featured designers.*

Space's first locations within Nordstrom open on August 20 at the company's Seattle, Chicago and San Francisco flagships. Space will likely also open at Nordstrom's Manhattan flagship when it opens in 2018, according to the New York Times. Vancouver's Nordstrom flagship opens to the public on Friday, September 18 at Pacific Centre, with a massive charity gala being held two days prior.

Vancouver's Nordstrom will be one of six flagships for the company. Nordstrom's Toronto Eaton Centre flagship, set to open in mid-September of 2016, will also be considered a flagship for the chain. There's no word yet, however, if Toronto's flagship Nordstrom will also feature the company's designer Space concept.

Canadian Retail News From Around The Web: August 17, 2015