Reintroducing Market, Highland Park Village’s Forward-Thinking Boutique

Almost five years after opening its doors, Market — the fashionable Highland Park Village boutique owned by the shopping center’s co-owner Elisa Summers — has relaunched with a new look and two new designated pop-up spaces.

The changes come on the heels of Market’s successful partnership with La Ligne — the New York-based brand brought a limited edit of its signature striped staples to the store in November and December of last year. As part of the store’s renovation, Market has divided its previous space with a wall to make room for La Ligne’s first freestanding location outside of its Madison Avenue flagship, set to open next door this spring.

The two new incubator-style spaces within Market will rotate on a six-month, seasonal basis and are already occupied by whimsically feminine brand LoveShackFancy and the ever-popular Dallas-based caftan line La Vie Style House — clearly they’ve already hit the nail on the head with what everyone wants to be wearing as spring rolls around.

And all of this change in just under a month. “In 30 days we got La Ligne, LoveShackFancy, and La Vie — all signed, sealed, and delivered — and construction completed,” says Market’s head of fashion Keenan Walker, who has already begun programming out the in-store pop-up spaces more than a year in advance.

As far as what other brands shoppers can expect to see popping up, mum’s the word, but Walker adds with a sly smile, “there’s always a reason I go to certain things in Paris.”

Walker, dressed in a tweed peplum jacket in neon green and cropped camo cargo pants — both by Pushbutton, a Seoul-based streetwear line for which Market is an exclusive retailer — managed to squeeze a trip to Paris for fashion week within the 30 days the store was undergoing its rehaul. (She wore the same jacket — paired with leather pants — to Kanye West’s surprise Sunday Service performance. “I was literally sitting in the choir,” she says).

Walker makes quarterly trips to both Paris and New York and recently added Sydney fashion week to her rotation. This year, she is considering attending the shows in Copenhagen as well to scope up-and-coming Danish brands.

“For us, it’s really about new product,” she says. “About 60 percent — at least — of our product is exclusive to us, either in Dallas, Texas, or the U.S.” She and Summers take pride in constantly refreshing their well edited selection — one that pulls off the trick of marrying the two women’s styles: Walker’s high-fashion edge and Summers’ more conservative chic (she arrives to the store in a navy A-line dress and a sapphire ‘E’ charm by Khai Khai around her neck).

As far as the reimagined interiors, led by Welch Hall architects, the walls have been wrapped in a subtly ombre vinyl and the shop’s previously soft palette has gone gray, including floors and baseboards. “There was a big debate over doing everything gray but I love that it all just goes away,” says Walker. “You just focus on the clothes.”