Sydney-based label founder Eloise Monaghan has told Confidential she has finally inked a lease for an outlet on the fashionable Spring Street in Soho — flanked by designer giants like Burberry and Isabel Marant — to open in the coming weeks.The breakthrough marks the eighth US store for the burgeoning label that specialises in racy campaigns for its raunchy lingerie and line of sex toys.It also heralds a long-awaited New York opening that was thwarted by COVID-19 a year ago, with the pandemic resulting in the shuttering of 60 Honey Birdette stores in Australia and worldwide.“I was in Switzerland for a fabric showing a year ago when I got a call from a business partner saying: ‘This might sound weird but you need to get on a plane and get home because you are about to shut 60 stores’,” says Monaghan, who managed to nab one of the few available flights back to Australia, at a cost of $12,000.“I cried on the plane all the way back. I thought my business was finished.”However a surge in online sales would meant the business took a small initial hit then boomed as customers — banned from splurging on overseas holidays — began stocking up on personal luxuries.“We closed all of our stores but our sales actually went up,” Monaghan said.“Instead of a $20,000 Bali holiday, people started buying weekly pleasures.”DT Daily News podcastA spot in New York caps an impressive year for Honey Birdette in the US, with celebrities including Paris Hilton and rapper Cardi B seen decked out in distinctive label, which this week rolled out a new Anyone For Tennis campaign inspired by the recent Australian Open and upcoming US Open in New York.“I’ve always wanted to do a tennis theme and the colours finally make it work, particularly the tennis ball fluoro yellow,” Monaghan says.NAT – Stay Informed – Social Media



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