66˚ NORTH ICELAND | WORKHOUSE #TBT

NEW YORK, NYREYKJAVIK MOVES SOUTH OF HOUSTON
OPEN FOR VIEWING AND BUYING AT SOHO TEMPORARY STORE THIS FALL:
JOIN US FOR A PERFECT BLEND OF ICELAND, ART & CULTURE
66°North to Showcase Iceland’s national clothing brand
DJ’s, Art, Design, provocative discussions and More!

NEW YORK, NY, For those of us frustrated by constantly having to make the choice between being comfortable and looking good 66°North, the national clothing brand of Iceland, blazes into New York with a solution. A proven selection of outerwear apparel, the brand is crafted by those who know nasty, cold weather and 66°North offers this artistry of attitude within a fashion-forward bent. Protection, comfort and minimalist style, 66°North has been life-tested within its home country’s primordial landscape. 66°North provides everything you might need as they recreate the reality of the world’s harshest climate right here in SoHo for men, women and children at their first temporary retail store which will be located at 158 MERCER STREET from 1 NOVEMBER through 30 DECEMBER 2005. 10am to 9pm, Monday through Friday, 9am to 9pm on Saturday and 11am to 7pm on Sunday. During the holiday period hours will be extended to 8am to 10pm, Monday through Thursday, 8am to 11pm, Friday and Saturday and 9am to 9pm on Sundays.

Conceived and produced by WORKHOUSE (www.workhousepr.com), the GQ-sponsored Grand Opening event on November 16th was packed with fashion and music editors, RICHARD WIESE, MICHAEL STRAHAN, Dr. IAN SMITH (VH1), model THELMA THORMARSDOTTIR and lots of Icelanders who felt right at home with photographs of Icelandic scenery running on the 25 foot high walls and in the Icelandic lava graveled lounge. The Reyka Vodka was flowing and two of Iceland’s most famous DJ’s Reynir Lyngdal and Johanannes Bragi Bjarnason, better known as GULLFOSS and GEYSIR, got the crowd dancing off the Icelandic smoked salmon they dined on until midnight amongst the hanging and folded jackets!

Durable, technological and stylish, among their most qualified researchers are extreme athletes and Icelandic Search & Rescue teams (ICE-SAR), bands of brave men and women trained to work under extreme conditions at sea and on land, who have gained fame for their daring exploits. 66°North brings the byproduct of all those years of research to New York this November. The store offers customer favorites for men, women and children including the award-winning Glymur Softshell Jacket, the popular KALDI ARCTIC HAT and a tremendous opportunity to purchase an actual Icelandic Search and Rescue faux fur-trimmed snowsuit. ADVOCATES of 66North include Scarlett Johansson, Julia Stiles, Ewan McGregor, Quentin Tarantino, Michael Bey, Liev Schreiber, KRISTEN ULMER, JOSH BERNSTEIN and the President of the Explorers Club, NYC Richard Wiese. 
“In the last year 66°North clothing has gone with me dog sledding in Alaska, to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro and down to the Antarctic continent, as well as numerous trips a little less technical,” says RICHARD WIESE, President of the Explorers Club, NYC.

“We have a rare opportunity to introduce a brand that is truly authentic, one with deep cultural roots that has a captivating story to tell. The biggest challenge is communicating a brand message that is so rich and inherently authentic that it does not need to be defined or redefined. We feel that our pop-up store at 158 Mercer Street will introduce a brand that has a confluence of culture, ease of lifestyle and fashion strength. I expect that New Yorker’s will discover the many facets of 66°North and we will become a brand as trusted and treasured as we are in Europe,” says SHARON PRINCE, President, 66°North.

Expect your world to be transformed upon entering 158 Mercer Street. Studio Director Nick Arauz of Pompei, A.D. has recreated the brand’s native country in this 2,500 square foot retail location. Scrims featuring scenes of Icelandic countryside abound, while videos of Icelandic activities are projected on walls throughout the store. CD’s of native musicians like SIGUR ROS (Iceland’s hip symphonic ensemble) and MUGISON (Winner of the Album of the year) are available for gift purchase as just another way of bringing a small piece of Iceland home with you. Additional events and offerings include REYKA VODKA tastings, an after party for the film, Screaming Masterpiece with a performance by Mugison, an ICELAND OPEN/Time4 Media event and a TIME OUT KIDS NY fashion show on DECEMBER 10th.

66°North Iceland’s temporary store has been designed so that visitors will experience “all things Icelandic”. Moss-covered shelving, gravel floors and iceberg tables conjure images of the rural Nordic villages where 66°North was introduced almost 80 years ago. Come in and partake of Icelandic Spring Water at a luxe Icelandic ice bar that will serve customers the cleanest waters from the edges of the Arctic Circle, where battling snowstorms and windy heights is a way of life. This space will serve many purposes by bringing together a fantastic blend of Icelandic fashion, film and music, all while celebrating prominent Icelandic figures who have made names for themselves worldwide. An epicurean Icelandic lounge invites visitors to sit back and relax in a futuristic chair equipped with a built in sound system connected to the latest sounds from Iceland. Or be captivated by the flat screen clips from Icelandic films recently premiered at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival. Or spend the day catching up on Iceland’s national history and natural wonders. 
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“66°North’s outerwear is rooted in Icelandic heritage: extreme conditions, an incredible natural landscape, and of course great style. So we’re creating much more than a store- this is a cultural hub where customers can immerse themselves in the Icelandic experience, and discover the brand. We’re developing a multimedia experience with images and films collected from all over Iceland, and designing the event space as a meeting point for anyone who’s been to Iceland or would like to know more. 66°North is really the top-end of outdoor gear, and has a cult following here in New York, so it’s the perfect place to launch a store for the holidays,” states NICK ARAUZ, Studio Director, POMPEI, A.D.
www.66northus.com