NEW YORK—Two floors of the Bloomingdale’s department store have been adorned in red and gold for a two-week celebration of the Lunar New Year.
Lunar New Year celebrations last two weeks and are the biggest holiday in China and many Asian cultures. Bloomingdale’s is taking special steps to herald the festivities for the second year in a row.
The luxury clothing store will host a variety of events as well as two galleries for two weeks leading up to the Lantern Festival, which marks the end of the festivities Feb. 15.
Designers like Carmen Marc Valvo, Longchamp, Diane von Furstenberg, MCM, Salvatore Ferragamo, Versace, Nike, and others contributed unique products exclusively for the celebration.
A gallery on the sixth floor commemorates the Year of the Horse with special items including a bright red makeup pouch with a golden horse clasp, a men’s tie with horseshoe designs, and gilded vases and bowls.
“The Chinese New Year is a very popular time for Chinese consumers and tourists,” said Tony Spring, Bloomingdale’s president.
“Chinese customers, including both tourists as well as Chinese Americans, are an important part of the overall Bloomingdale’s business,” Spring said in an email.
To add to the experience Bloomingdale’s invited traditional tea ceremony masters, a calligraphy painter, dressed mannequins in Chinese costumes, and had traditional Chinese music performances. Based on a positive response on social media and by word of mouth last year, Bloomingdale’s added extra displays this year, and sees the event expanding in the future.
“Following last year’s event, we had a number of our vendor partners wanting to take part in this year’s celebration, which is very exciting,” Spring said.
This year Bloomingdale’s had many more designers participate in product displays and added a new shop at the SoHo location.
On Jan. 30, visitors stopped along the world famous ‘bway,’ the store’s corridor that’s been featured in many films and took photos with a large poster mounted on the wall, explaining the animal signs of the lunar calendar.
Roylene C. from Seattle said she has a lot of friends who celebrate the Lunar New Year with.
“What brought us to Bloomingdale’s was actually through the Chinese New Year,” she said.
Another shopper, Carlotta Gladding, said that it’s convenient to have the displays and events brought into the local stores.
“It opens people’s eyes up to a celebration of Chinese New Year,” Gladding said.
To check a full listing of Bloomingdale’s events, please check bloomingdales.com/events
