NEW YORK, Jul 31, 2002/ --- Jil Sander designs are no stranger to the accolades of fashion critics. Impressively the Paris, Hamburg, San Francisco and Verona stores have all been awarded various architectural and design accolades, and the New York flagship store to open in September 2002 looks set to harness further adulation.

The man behind the prizes is Michael Gabellini, who founded Gabellini Associates in 1991, which specializes in fashion boutiques, showrooms, art galleries and lighting design.

"We have just finished Dusseldorf and London; each store is characterized by the city and its architecture.

Also traditionally we are very interested in understanding the clientele.

The New York store will house men's and women's under one roof; there is an intermingling," Michael explained to FWD.

"It's a very interesting space simply because of its history (it is the former Hermes headquarters) and its character. We are playing with the polishing of the old façade and mixing that with the new environment. It is very pure."

A large atrium is featured as you enter the store, the design concept being based on light and suspension.

With 7,000 square feet spread out on three floors you might expect a slightly intimidating shopping experience, but this is not so.

Unlike so many architects, Gabellini poo-poos the idea of huge impersonal spaces.

"There has been a trend recently towards "bigger is better" yet the New York Jil Sander store has the opposite view.

It is almost Alice through the looking glass, a world of miniature, as the proportions change continually.

Because of this style of layout it remains very much a boutique, very intimate," he explained.

Gabellini himself is an undoubted fan of Sander's designer Milan Vukmirovic's work

"For me Jil Sander represents luxury and comfort. The clothing is not synonymous with status or fashion direction, it has a much more intrinsic value to your proportions and the way you move. So many men's clothing is based on men with a tall thin frame -- I am average and Jil Sander works on all body types. The fabrics are refined and technical. I wear a Jil Sander suit the way I would wear another designer's jeans."

Jil Sander 11 East 57th St., NYC