Versace and Dior are getting a new neighbor.
Balenciaga, the controversial fashion brand that sparked outrage with recent ad campaigns, is relocating its Soho store to Greene Street. The move places the retailer among what many consider the neighborhood’s luxury row.
The subsidiary of French fashion house Kering signed a lease for 7,000 square feet at SL Green Realty’s 110 Greene Street, sources familiar with the transaction told The Real Deal.
Financial terms of the deal were not available.
Representatives for Balenciaga and SL Green did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Joel Isaacs of Isaacs and Company, who represented the tenant in the deal, did not immediately respond to a request.
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Balenciaga will relocate from its current location two blocks away at 148 Mercer Street, where it opened shop in 2009.
The retailer has been at the center of recent controversy after it released ad campaigns featuring photos of children holding teddy bears in bondage outfits and documents from a U.S. Supreme Court case on child pornography.
The campaigns spurred conspiracy theories, backlash from conservative media and a denouncement from celebrities like Kim Kardashian, a longtime supporter and recent campaign star of the brand.
Balenciaga responded to the controversy in an Instagram post, saying they “strongly condemn child abuse” and “it was never our intent to include it in our narrative.”
“This was a wrong choice by Balenciaga, combined with our failure in assessing and validating images,” the company said in the post. “The responsibility for this lies with Balenciaga alone.”