Rick Owens Opening Chicago Flagship Fulton Market

Fulton Market just took a major step in its transformation from meatpacking plants to a lifestyle hub for trendy office workers and tourists.

Shanna Collective and Fulton Street Companies announced that fashion designer Rick Owens will open his first store in Chicago at The Fulton, the developers’ mixed-use project at 910 West Lake Street where Coca-Cola is set to open a large office on the building’s upper floors that are being refinished as part of the development.

Rick Owens’ 2,832-square-foot retail store will be the Paris-based brand’s fourth location in the U.S. and its first in Chicago. While the square footage is modest compared to the massive office leases that define the neighborhood, the deal signals a pivotal shift for the corridor.

Fulton Street Companies, led by Ross Babel and Alex Najem, has pushed to transform the fast-growing office hub and hot residential area into a high-end shopping destination. While brands like Lululemon and Anthropologie have planted flags, the arrival of Rick Owens — known for gothic minimalism and brutalist aesthetics — marks the first ultra-luxury brand to set up shop in Fulton Market.

“Rick Owens embodies uncompromising creativity and cultural relevance,” said Shanna Khan, CEO of Shanna Collective and the project’s chief design officer. “Welcoming a world-renowned, avant-garde designer such as Rick Owens creates a platform for bold expression in fashion and the arts.”

The retail lease was brokered by Francis X. Scire, Jr., head of retail leasing for The Fulton, in collaboration with Khan. Fulton Street Companies tapped Scire in January to lead its leasing operations and bring in high-end clients. Najem said it was especially enjoyable to witness Owens’ wife, designer Michèle Lamy, walk the brand’s new space with Khan and come up with ideas for its eventual presentation and opening.

Rick Owens was represented by Newmark’s Andrew Turf, Jonathan Schley, Aubrie Pettersen and Aubrey Hinkson in collaboration with Chicago-based Canvas Real Estate’s Anthony Campagni and Elan Rasansky.

The store will be located within The Fulton, a 535,000-square-foot development that involved the adaptive reuse of the historic Schwinn bicycle factory on Lake Street and the more than $230 million construction of an adjacent 12-story office building immediately to the north on 919 West Fulton Street.

The new construction project broke ground in 2023 — one of the few office developments to do so amid a high-interest rate environment — and recently completed work, with ongoing interior buildouts for high-end fitness tenant Equinix as well as a Gibson’s restaurant.

Fulton Street Companies has been one of the most active developers in the neighborhood, betting that the area can sustain premium rents despite broader headwinds in the commercial sector. Its 919 West Fulton Street hosts Harrison Street Real Estate as its anchor office tenant, which recently moved its workforce into the building. Najem and Khan’s firms purchased the Lake Street Lofts building next door, where Rick Owens is leasing, for $49 million in 2023.