Cool Girls Rejoice: Nordstrom Opens New SPACE Curated by Olivia Kim

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Nordie's seriously upped its hip factor today. All credit to SPACE, the Seattle retailer's take on a bona-fide boutique, and its super-chic mama and curator Olivia Kim, director of creative projects. But don't take our word for it, head over to the San Francisco Centre, ride the escalator to Nordstrom's Collectors department (second floor) and behold the emerging-designer goodness, pink mannequins, wavy neon mirrors and rubber benches.

Fueled by the success of the almost two-year-old rotating pop-up program, Kim and team set out to create a more permanent place, or SPACE, to introduce customers to new design talent and upcoming labels, along with more "advanced" but hardly ubiquitous brands—all in eye-popping and interesting surroundings. "I want it to be a place of inspiration and education. A lot of these pieces are new and directional, but I want it to always feel inclusive. SPACE is a part of the Nordstrom ethos of offering the best of what's out there," says Kim.

The freshman class of seasonal clothing, handbag, jewelry and footwear offerings come from the likes of Faustine Steinmetz, Isa Arfen, Marques Almeida, Adieu, Rosetta Getty, Sarah & Sebastian, Simone Rocha, Anthony Vaccarello, Acne, Edie Parker and more. Also noteworthy: San Francisco is one of only a handful of cities to house the cool concept stores. (Seattle, Chicago and Vancouver are the others, in case you're wondering). Thanks to the Wi-Fi gods, however, anyone with a connection can shop SPACE.