Lingua Franca opens premiere flagship in New York City

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Nov 14, 2018

Known for its sweaters featuring witty embroidered quotes, cashmere brand Lingua Franca has opened its first store on Bleecker Street in New York City's West Village. 

The new flagship, leased as part of an initiative from  Brookfield Properties to revive flagging commercial streets in NYC, will feature the brand's cashmere sweaters, emblazoned with politically focused phrases like "Give A Damn," "I Miss Barack," and "The Future Is Female." As an added attraction, shoppers who visit the brick-and-mortar location will be able to see live embroidery from the brand's New York City-based all-female team.

In addition to the brand's signature apparel, the new store will also offer a range of jewelry by Of Rare Origin. 

The flagship's interior was designed in collaboration between Lingua Franca designer Rachelle Hruska MacPherson and her husband, Sean MacPherson, the hotelier responsible for designing the Bowery, the Waverly Inn, and the Crow's Nest. In addition to a blue, L-shaped Mario Bellini couch, the store features neutral-toned walls decorated with portraits of powerful women like Michelle Obama, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Maya Angelou, courtesy of artist Ashley Longshore. 

MacPherson – who is also the co-founder of media company Guest of a Guest – founded Lingua Franca in 2016, launching on a digital platform. Initially well-received, the brand would go on to explode in popularity after releasing sweaters designed to show support for the feminist movement and opposition to the Trump administration.

Now boasting 48.2 thousand followers on Instagram, the brand has since made fans of celebrities like Meryl Streep and Reese Witherspoon, and is known for its female workforce and sustainable production practices. 

In the future, the brand plans to launch a capsule collection of sweaters inspired by Bold & Brave, a children's book authored by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, in addition to collaborating with Focus Features on the Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic, On the Basis of Sex.