COS on Fifth Avenue Opens Today, and the Financial District Is Next

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It looks like Zara's got some competition in midtown. COS officially opened its Fifth Avenue doors at noon today, right across the street from the Spanish retailer's recently remodeled 42nd Street store. Unlike the painful delays New Yorkers experienced waiting for the Soho store, it only took a few months for this former H&M to convert from a blindingly bright white mecca of $4.99 finds to an oasis of Scandinavian minimalism that perfectly echoes the aesthetic of its offerings.

Truth be told, the store looks a whole lot bigger from the outside, but don't think that means it's small. This space has much higher ceilings compared to Soho, and large windows on the facade let in the sunlight that floods the adjacent Bryant Park. Expect to see a lot of the same design touches — bleached woods, brushed metal racks, geometric shelving — as the downtown store, but just with a little more breathing room. Clothing racks are used to divide up the rectangular space, with womenswear sections in the front and a much smaller area for men in the back near the dressing rooms. There's an inviting seating area in the front, too, that looks like it's straight from an Ikea catalog page.

This is likely the same look that'll be utilized when COS unveils its third NYC store in the Financial District next year; the brand confirmed yesterday that they're headed to Westfield World Trade Center, just like its sister brand. But for now, Fifth Avenue is where you'll find newer fall items — apparel and accessories that was released a couple months back is now on sale downtown — as well as tourists passing through between Grand Central and Times Square. And in two weeks, shoppers will have double the amount of European fashion imports to explore when & Other Stories opens on October 30th.