Eyewear brand Illesteva has opened its second New York City location on the Upper East Side, making it one of the brand’s biggest brick-and-mortar locations. We caught up with Illesteva’s co-founder and designer Daniel Silberman on what we can expect from the new digs.
What made you want to open in this neighborhood?
I looked at spaces on the upper east side for over a year before I found one that I felt would really represent our brand. Usually, when labels open uptown, they choose locations on Madison Avenue but I fell in love with the location on Lexington when we came to see it. It was important for us to stay true to our ethos and we like pushing the envelope when it comes to designing sunglasses, so opening on Lexington just felt right.
Where are your other locations?
We currently have 5 brick-and-mortar locations: two in New York (Soho and the Upper East Side), one in L.A. in Venice Beach, one in the Wynwood district of Miami, and one on Newbury Street in Boston.
Tell us about the design aesthetic of the UES store.
The design of the uptown store is very similar to our other stores. We wanted to keep it minimal so clients are able to focus on the product. Our production process is very homegrown so in addition to being minimal, we wanted to utilize natural elements, hence the wood finishes.
What services will you be offering?
This is our 5th and largest store to date at 1,100 square feet and it will feature our full sunglass, leather goods, and umbrella collection as well as a full optical bar.
Can you customize frames in-store or just online?
Our build-your-own frames can be made online and in-stores. We have exclusive color ways for online and each brick-and-mortar location.
Illesteva: 814 Lexington Avenue (Between 62& 63)
