Expect to see a crowd on Grafton Street today for the opening of the Tommy Hilfiger flagship on the site of the former Grafton Arcade.
The official opening is next Tuesday, when the designer himself comes to town, but meanwhile punters can browse through the refurbished building which has been given a lavish makeover.
Hilfiger is paying a record rent believed to be around €1.68 million for the building, which needed a total overhaul. It's probably one of the last big fit-outs of the boom, says Michelle Hetheringtonof Axiom Design in Sandyford who co-ordinated the work. She describes the makeover as "akin to going into a grand old house that had been divided into bedsits".
With a generous budget from Hilfigershe was able to work with some great effects, such as the new stone and bronze façade and the superb glass lift that rises up through the building.
The ground floor, given over to menswear, has been designed in gentlemans club style, with antique oak floors, traditional leather Ottoman seating, vintage-style globe lights and antique furniture.
Upstairs, past a wall hung with vintage posters, and photographs of Dublin, will be womenswear but yummy mummies will be heading straight for the second floor to kit out their children in adorable, and it has to be said, expensive style.
Axiom has been involved in a number of high profile retail fitouts in recent years and Hetheringtonhas also worked at the very top end of the residential market, fitting house show homes and working on private projects.
