New York fashion will arrive on Reid Street tomorrow when Gibbons Company opens a Kenneth Cole store in the former home of Capital G Bank.

Paula Clarke, chief merchandising officer for Gibbons Company, told that the company decided to open a Kenneth Cole store because the brand has always been a very popular seller in Gibbons Company.

?We have had it in our main store for the past four-and-a-half years now and it has really been very successful. We started in menswear and then Kenneth Cole developed a womenswear line and that was explosive as well so we really felt that because of our space restrictions in Gibbons Company we really needed to give it its own identity.?

When the 1,000 square foot store opens for the first time tomorrow at 8.30 a.m., it will have the modern look that is seen in all Kenneth Cole stores that are open around the world. The designer?s staff flew in over the weekend to help arrange the store and train the staff.

Ms. Clarke said: ?Kenneth Cole wants to be able to walk into a store whether its in New York or Los Angeles or Hong Kong or Bermuda and see that it will have his identity, so there are people down from New York to make sure the integrity is here.?

The new store will sell clothing, shoes, leather goods, sunglasses and jewellery for both men and women. The line ranges from casual to cocktail party.

?Kenneth Cole started his business on his own about 20 years ago and he is very modern and edgy. He wants people to be comfortable but stylish so he is very fashionable without being extreme. He believes in comfort and wearability and value for money,? Ms. Clarke said.

?He sees that people transition very easily from the work day into an evening whether a cocktail party or business dinner so his styling really says everything about his clothing line. If you look at a man or woman dressed in Kenneth Cole they definitely have a fashion edge.?

Ms. Clarke said that when Gibbons Company decided to open the store, it had local residents in mind.

?Our customer is a 12-month-a-year Bermuda resident and we?re continuing to work to make sure that we?re bringing fashionable stylish merchandise to the island right on time at prices that are the same as the United States without sales tax,? Ms Clarke said.

Kenneth Cole designs for six seasons per year and Ms Clarke said Gibbons will be bringing in all his lines. Despite the fact that Bermuda has a mild winter there will be some winter weight clothing in stock to allow business people who travel to colder climates to purchase the winter clothing they need ahead of their trip.

?Everybody is very busy so we?re encouraging them to buy Bermuda and stay at home and be prepared when they go on these business trips,? she said. ?It is great that everybody travels but use you travel time for leisure.

?We?re always striving for a mix of merchandise and we work hard to make sure that it is attractive from a price point of view so we?re very much keeping our eyes on all the balls.?

There is still more space available in the old Capital G premises, but Ms. Clarke was not yet able to say whether it too would become retail space.

?There are plans afoot for other things, but we?re not really talking about that right now,? she said.