Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/215745
FASHION PLATE Alexis Cozzini in Citizen Stone, which stocks chic apparel and home décor. Comeback Kid RETAIL QUEEN ALEXIS COZZINI PROVES THERE'S LIFE AFTER SARCA WITH NEW LIFESTYLE BOUTIQUE CITIZEN STONE. BY MEG MATHIS "Y ou kind of have to know about it to pop in," says Alexis Cozzini with a laugh, "but we're here, so by all means come in." Cozzini is referring to Citizen Stone, the new concept she opened last month after a flood forced her to shutter her beloved women's clothing shop Sarca last winter. The past several months have seen Cozzini working quietly behind the scenes dressing the city's most fashionable on an appointment-only basis, but with the official opening of Citizen Stone in Lincoln Park, Cozzini is at last back on the boutique scene. Citizen Stone picks up where Sarca left off by stocking under-the-radar labels (think tops and bottoms by Valentine Gauthier, shoes by Ivy Kirzhner, and jewelry by Ben-Amun), while also expanding into home furnishings, technology accessories, and bath and beauty. "Our customer is really into the whole concept of lifestyle," says Cozzini, "and typically if you're into fashion and dressing well and looking good, all of these other things fall in line." With the new concept comes a new muse for Cozzini, who first fell in love with fashion as a high school student working at —ALEXIS COZZINI Lincoln Park's Celeste Turner and who envisions the persona of Citizen Stone's ideal client as a "mysterious, super-fashionable, know-everything woman. In terms of fashion, Citizen Stone would be the ideal fashionista; in terms of interior design, she'd be the ultimate décor style setter; she would be your go-to person for beauty tips, bath products, and home accessories." The expansion to home furnishings was a natural progression for Cozzini, given that Sarca customers regularly wondered if the store's furnishings were available for purchase. She is as eager to stock décor pieces by Seletti, Canvas Home, and Fornasetti as she is the French perfume Amouage, an international celebrity favorite still largely unknown in the States. "The brands that I pick up for the store are hard to find in this market, or they don't exist here at all," says Cozzini, "so they tend to have really cool backstories to them." One story she's particularly excited about is Olfactive Studio's. "A photographer will send a photograph to a lab, and then technicians come up with a scent based on the photograph," she says. "They collaborate to create the scent and package it with an original photograph; it's a cool concept." Cozzini hopes her clientele feels the same excitement about Citizen Stone. "Ever since the flood, we've been by appointment only," says Cozzini. Now she's eager to settle into her new boutique, though she will continue to offer appointments in the privacy of clients' homes. "I'm excited to be able to get back into a space and have a permanent location," she says. "It's been a while." 1440 N. Dayton St., Ste. 302, 312-624-9062; citizenstone.com MA PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARIA PONCE BERRE "Our customer is really into the whole concept of lifestyle." 102 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM 102_MA_SS_ComebackKid_Winter2014.indd 102 11/20/13 10:08 AM