“Scatter My Ashes at Linda’s”

Linda Fargo is the eyes and the face of Bergdorf Goodman. The SVP of Fashion and Store Presentation is a highly visual, well-respected fashion guru and someone with a magnetic personal style. Fargo, who has always said she loves a good theme, is dressed perfectly for every occasion.

So, it’s no surprise that through the years, many people have asked her ‘What are you wearing? This is precisely what triggered the idea for “Linda’s,” which opened on the 4th floor of Bergdorf Goodman on May 2nd, 2017.

“There’s a very porous line between my life and Bergdorf’s. It’s very natural. It’s a very symbiotic relationship. And then the question was asked, ‘If you had a corner, what would you put there?”

Linda Fargo

6 years later, the store within a store expertly curated by Fargo got a lot bigger (double the original 600 square feet) and has a new look and location on the 4th floor.

To celebrate the reopening of Linda’s Place, 4 of the store’s 5th Avenue windows were filled with mannequins made in Fargo’s image, along with a selection of Linda’s personally handpicked fantastical and whimsical designs.

“Linda’s is somewhere between a shopping paradise and a fantasy closet”

Linda Fargo

On Wednesday evening, approximately 80 of Linda’s fashionable friends, colleagues, and fans were invited to a cocktail party with DJ Isaac Hindin-Miller providing the ideal eclectic and energetic musical backdrop; margaritas flowed, and champagne was served.

There was also a surprise birthday cake for Fargo, dressed in a colorful and festive Alexander McQueen dress accessorized with a Ranjana Khan headpiece. Luxury retail brand consultant Tony Brand, Linda’s beau, was never too far from Linda’s side.

The crowd included fashion designers, editors, and New York legends like Michael Musto. Looking around, I spotted Phillip Lim, Brandon Maxwell, Ranjana Khan, Nancy Chilton, longtime fashion consultant Robert Burke, Fashion Director of Off Duty at the Wall Street Journal Katharine Zarrella, Aaron Rose-Phillip, Tziporah Salamon, and Bryna Pomp, contemporary jewelry specialist and the curator of MAD About Jewelry at the Museum of Arts and Design on Columbus Circle in New York.

Coincidentally, Linda Fargo is one of three honorees of this year’s MAD About Jewelry Opening Benefit Preview Dinner at the Museum of Arts & Design on April 25th. The other two are Alexis Bittar, founder of the eponymous luxury jewelry and accessories brand, and Sam Broekema, Editor-in-chief of the Natural Diamond Council’s editorial site.

Also mingling in the crowd last night was Betty Halbreich, Bergdorf Goodman’s legendary personal shopper, and Sam Goldstein, one of BG’s most popular and highly sought-after personal shoppers. When I asked Sam what’s selling these days, she said, “really, everything across the board,” but bridal is doing exceptionally well, and her customers love Linda’s selections.

The selection for Linda’s Place is time specific and seasonal. Linda hopes customers will find something extraordinary for the season in her fabulously curated shop and be able to walk out of the store with their purchases. While her selection is continuously rotating and often surprising, there are some consistencies one can always count on when Fargo is involved.

Linda loves Animalia, especially leopard, so you will always find different iterations. Our senior writer Laurel Marcus showed up in head-to-toe leopard last night. It was hard to tell where the mannequin ended and where Laurel began.

Linda is also a big fan of surrealism (Schiaparelli), Sacai’s brilliant hybridizations, Ranjana Khan’s exotic jewelry and accessories, Libertine’s whimsical designs, the color red, almost anything feathered bejeweled, and sequined, and of course, that old standby: the little ( or not so little) black dress.

Linda appreciates everything from the time-old classics to the avant-garde, but one thing her choices have in common: it has to be a LOVE, not just a like, and make her heart beat a little faster. So, what are some of Linda’s current obsessions?

Libertine’s Silk Screen Belted Lean Trench, $4250, Dolce & Gabbana’s Leopard Printed Belted Terry Cloth Coat, $5295, Loewe’s Red Comic Balloon Pumps, $1850 and their Scent of Marihuana Liquid Soap, $73, Tom Ford’s One Shoulder Caftan Gown with Gold Dip Hem, $5950, Alexander McQueen’s Iris Printed Double-Breasted Jacket, $5300, Chloe’s Vintage Denim Trench with Eyelet Detail, $5500, and KHAITE’S Marcy Crystal Embellished Flats, $1800.

Okay, I’m officially obsessed as well!

Latest Comments:

1. 

   LOVE all of this. Thank you, Marilyn. <3

2. 

   My fave is the Gorski. Best look and function to me!

3. 

   A Marvelous Tribute to IRIS, a one-of-a-kind work of art!

4. 

   You beautifully, tastefully, and rightfully said it all. I do think Melania’s Adviser Herve Pierre influences her choices.

5. 

   Fascinating article–fascinating man! Thanks, Marilyn!