'Opening Ceremony' in NYC getting into the Olympic spirit

by Amy Judd | August 7, 2008 at 02:52 pm

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Now the the Olympic Games are almost upon us, everyone is trying to get into the Olympic spirit. Fashion in Beijing will be an interesting event in itself to watch, and it all began when Ralph Lauren was named the official outfitter of the Amercian Olympic team.

Now Gucci is selling limited-edition watches marked 8-8-2008, with interlocking G’s in place of the 0’s; Puma is pushing a handbag shaped like a gold medal; and Lane Crawford, the Hong Kong luxury store, has recruited designers like Stella McCartney, Stefano Pilati and Christopher Bailey to design clothes inspired by specific sports.

But in terms of dedication and endurance, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, the owners of the designer store Opening Ceremony (so named after their love of the events), are attempting this weekend to set a record that a Speedo LZR swimsuit couldn’t break. They plan to keep their store, on Howard Street in SoHo, open for a 72-hour Olympics shopping marathon.

“From the very beginning, one of the things we’ve talked about was that we would love a store that was open at one or two in the morning,” Mr. Leon said. “Sometimes you feel like going out, but you don’t want to go to a bar.”

Opening Ceremony will entice late night shoppers with taco and ice cream giveaways, a 6am Scrabble match, and a 1am table tennis tournament.
The Games will also be broadcast in the store, and a tattoo artist will be on hand Saturday morning to tattoo Olympic designs on lucky customers.