Hopefully you caught the beginning of our “Ode to” series last year in the PaperCity print issue. We’ve shown our effusive love for the Gucci loafer, Cartier tank watch, and the L.L. Bean Boat and Tote. A retailer that belongs in this series is the one with the iconic black shopping bag — Barneys New York. I often listen to my playlist while I write, and lo and behold, Flesh for Lulu’s ‘80s new wave classic “I Go Crazy” just came on. The lyrics “I go crazy when I’m without you” seem oh-so apropos.
Occasionally I’m asked to do a Q&A when someone comes to town for a book signing. On Saturday, April 11, I’m excited to welcome Gene Pressman who was Barneys former co-CEO, creative director, and head of merchandising and marketing for 25 years, to KD Biel in the Dallas Design District as he discusses and signs his new book, They All Came to Barneys (Viking), a glamorous fashion history and a dramatic business tale of the rise of some of the biggest names in fashion by the store that made it all happen, even as family disagreements and overrun costs tore it apart from the inside.
The legendary department store founded by his grandfather, Barney Pressman, in 1923 was a comet that burned bright through many eras of fashion and popular culture, including Studio 54’s heyday and the Dynasty excesses of the ‘80s, as well as ‘90s minimalism, which we recently revisited in Ryan Murphy’s Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette. Three generations ran the iconic store, including the founder’s son, Fred Pressman, and his grandsons, Gene and Bob.
But the Barneys creative stamp, the dazzling popularity and cultural zeitgeist came from Gene. Texas was part of the Barneys global empire, with an outpost that rose twice at Dallas’s NorthPark Center but unfortunately burned out as any bright solar phenomenon does. The first Barneys store closed in 1997, and that second Dallas store closed in 2013. In Houston, Barneys was at Houston Galleria where Chanel now reigns. The Houston store closed in July 1997; Barneys filed for bankruptcy in 1996 and again in 2019.
A bit of the brilliant star power reflected on PaperCity when, in June 2010, Barneys telephoned for 300 issues of the magazine for their Dallas windows. We basked in our 15 minutes.
My personal story with Barneys has several chapters. It all started when I was a poor Manhattanite in the mid-’90s. I was in graduate school, and my wardrobe consisted of thrift-store finds supplemented with items scored at sample sales. (Remember the days of keeping one’s weight just right to fit in those pieces?) I would make a pilgrimage to Barneys’ downtown outpost, which had lots of tucked-away passages and staircases; honestly, the interiors felt like an Escher drawing, since you would often get lost. But who cared. When lost, you would often discover a new Belgian designer or niche display of an up-and-coming fine-paper purveyor.
My second chapter with Barneys began when they opened the Dallas location (their second coming), and when I attended the opening soirée. Pick up a copy of Pressman’s book when it comes to Dallas this month, and I promise you’ll tear through it in a weekend. If you don’t believe me, consider these celebrity testimonials on the back cover: Calvin Klein: “Barneys was a truly unique experience — sophisticated, creative, and one of endless discovery.” Marc Jacobs: “Gene’s alluring outline of his family’s story is a remarkable account of one of New York City’s most treasured institutions … It was the original influencer.”
Salon talk and book signing with Gene Pressman moderated by Billy Fong at KD Biel, Saturday, April 11, 6 pm. To RSVP email events@kdbiel.com
Gene Pressman will also appear at Texas Design Week Houston on Monday, April 13, 4:30 to 6:30 pm, moderated by Francine Ballard, at Park House Houston, for a salon talk and book signing. Tickets and schedule here.