Global fashion designer Rick Owens plans to open a shop in Chicago’s Fulton Market, adding an ultra-luxury retailer to the once-gritty former meatpacking district.
The Paris-based designer of high-end men’s and women’s clothing and accessories has leased a 2,832-square-foot space within an 1800s building along Lake and Peoria streets that was the original Schwinn bicycle factory, developers Fulton Street and Shanna Collective said.
The lease at 212 N. Peoria St. adds a new twist to the neighborhood, and to a $350 million project that began as a ground-up office development in 2023 when few such projects were breaking ground in the U.S.
The developers are billing the Rick Owens deal as the first permanent store in the neighborhood for an ultra-luxury brand, which they say could help elevate the already high-demand area as a top cultural and commercial district.
“Rick Owens embodies uncompromising creativity and cultural relevance,” Shanna Khan, founder and CEO of Shanna Collective and chief design officer of The Fulton, said in a statement. “Welcoming a world-renowned, avant-garde designer such as Rick Owens creates a platform for bold expression in fashion and the arts, and reflects our commitment to building spaces with intention, soul, and global impact.”
Khan is the daughter of Shadid Khan, who owns auto parts supplier Flex-N-Gate and the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. She is an investor in and designer for The Fulton and other projects with Chicago-based Fulton Street.
The Rick Owens aesthetic has been described with terms such as gothic, minimalist, brutalist and punk. He is married to French designer Michèle Lamy.
Rick Owens’ only other U.S. stores are in New York, Miami, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, according to the company’s website. International locations include Milan, Tokyo, Berlin, Hong Kong and Beijing.
Khan and Francis Scire Jr., founder of FXS Executes and recently appointed head of retail leasing for The Fulton, led the effort to land the Rick Owens store.
“We were all fortunate to experience Michèle Lamy and Shanna Khan walking the site together and shaping what will become the ultimate expression of the brand’s vision,” Fulton Street Principal Alex Najem said in the statement.
The historic building is part of a larger project now branded as The Fulton.
The developers broke ground on a ground-up, 11-story office building at 919 W. Fulton in 2023. That project kicked off after landing a $233 million construction loan, a rarity nationally as office leasing remained sluggish in the aftermath of COVID-19.
That structure will be connected to the former Schwinn building by a glass atrium, creating a total project of 535,000 square feet. The project is expected to be completed around June.
Real estate investment firm Harrison Street was the anchor tenant, since joined in the new structure by a Gibsons Restaurant Group restaurant, an Equinox gym and smaller office tenants including BlackEdge Capital and Permanent Capital.
Coca-Cola is moving into the smaller structure, formerly known as the Lake Street Lofts, in an expansion of its Chicago office, that company confirmed early last year.
Fulton Market was the city’s longtime meatpacking district before the arrival in recent years of office, residential and hotel towers alongside new retail.
After a yearslong construction boom, the area is home to the global headquarters of McDonald’s and Mondelez, the Midwest headquarters of Google and an increasing number of office workers and residents.
The pocket just west of the Loop business district, long known for top restaurants, in recent years has added national retail brands such as Lululemon, Warby Parker and Patagonia. Others, such as a Trader Joe’s grocery store, are on the way.
For the record
The tenant was represented by Newmark broker Andrew Turf. The landlord was represented by Francis Scire Jr.