David Kordansky Gallery Expands to New York, and Other News

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David Kordansky Gallery will open an outpost in Chelsea, New York, designed by wHY. 

One of California’s most closely watched galleries will soon open an outpost in New York. In the spring, David Kordansky Gallery will inaugurate a ground-floor space in Chelsea designed by Kulapat Yantrasast of wHY, who was also behind the gallery’s newly expanded outpost in Mid-City, Los Angeles. A solo exhibition of work by artist Lauren Halsey will kick things off. “Opening our own space in New York is the beginning of an incredible new chapter in the gallery’s journey,” Kordansky says. “We’re honored to take this step by presenting Lauren’s first solo exhibition in the city. Lauren embodies the visionary energies and histories of Los Angeles—and a collaborative ethos that is an inspiration for community-making everywhere.” 

Andrea O’Donnell has been named the new chief executive officer of Everlane.

Since its inception in 2010, Everlane has stamped itself as a transparent direct-to-consumer brand that has won over consumers for its open-book approach to production and pricing with founder Michael Preysman at the helm. As he settles into a more sustainability-oriented role as an executive chair, the brand has named Andrea O’Donnell as its new CEO following her successful stewardships Lane Crawford, John Lewis, and most recently Dockers, where she was the president of Ugg. O’Donnell’s previous responsibilities included campaigns and partnerships, a skillset she plans to leverage as she steps into her new position on January 1.

The Londoner, the first super-boutique hotel by Yabu Pushelberg, opens in London.

Theatricality takes on a new form with the addition of the Londoner to Leicester Square’s hotel scene. Located beside the UK capital’s theatre district, the Yabu Pushelberg–designed property channels the art of performance through layered programming that runs through 16 storeys. Rising from its basement oasis to sandwiched floors that play host to collaborative workspaces, ambient ballrooms, exclusive cocktail lounges, and luxury guest suites to its crowning outdoor restaurant, the firm fashions a robust guest experience that configures spaces to resemble a box within a box as nod to multiple archetypes involved in a production.

Warby Parker has entered the New York Stock Exchange with soaring share prices.

Opting for a direct listing instead of an IPO, Warby Parker mirrors the approach of Spotify, Roblox, and Coinbase to join the public exchange. Under the ticker symbol WRBY, the eyewear brand is testing the waters of the market’s appetite for direct-to-consumer brands and exceeds expectations with a debut share price of $54.05, soaring more than 30 percent of its reference price of $40 and valuing the company at $6 billion. “We have less than 1 percent of market share in this massive category, and see huge tailwinds to grow our top line and our bottom line in the years to come,” says co-founder and co-CEO Dave Gilboa.

A Danish firm debuts a dreamy restaurant called Esmée in the heart of Copenhagen.

Following the 2011 launch of Geist, Space Copenhagen unveils their second gourmet outpost that taps Mediterranean aesthetics and auras of classic French brasseries. Located a stone’s throw from the Royal Danish Theatre and Charlottenborg Palace, Esmée reinterprets its Kongens Nytorv site with rustic materials that nod to traditional Danish homes through a neutral color scheme that echoes the intimate ambiance of Southern European dining. Offset by a deep burgundy-tinged bar, Esmée fashions a versatile playground for chef Andreas Bagh to dish out classic French cuisine imbued with Nordic essences as the culinary destination evolves from a morning coffee spot to an intimate night-dining affair. 

Balenciaga’s Demna Gvasalia receives a Medal of Honor from the Georgian president. 

Stewarding fashion’s biggest names, Demna Gvasalia’s 2015 appointment at Balenciaga and background at Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton, amongst a myriad of other labels, has stationed him as one of the fashion industry’s most influential voices. In recognition of his trend-setting career, the Georgian president Salome Zurabishvili describes Gvasalia as “a model for the next generation of creative Georgians” and has awarded him with a Medal of Honor on the sentimental date of September 27—a nod a moment in history 28 years ago that recounts the collapse of Sokhumi and the lost control over Gvasalia’s homeland Abkhazia.

Today’s attractive distractions:

Cops bust an illegal Airbnb operation being run out of vans in the East Village.

Kim Kardashian’s ghostly Met Gala getup may be your next Halloween costume.

Jack White’s new record store in London reflects his refined design sensibilities.

Here’s how museums fought back against bug infestations during the pandemic.