Designer Stella Ishii, co-owner of fashion showroom the NEWS and founder of label 6397, discusses her SoHo loft and the neighborhood's artistic legacy in an interview with curator Clarissa Dalrymple. Ishii, who moved from Japan to New York in the 1990s after working with Comme des Garçons founder Rei Kawakubo, bought a 3,000-square-foot cast-iron loft with her artist husband Jerry Kamitaki in 1997, preserving a rare artist-priced property in a rapidly gentrifying area. The conversation touches on SoHo's transformation from an artist haven—home to figures like Gordon Matta-Clark, Donald Judd, Joan Jonas, and gallerist Paula Cooper—to a commercial district, as well as Ishii's collecting habits and the loft's role as a creative space for performances and guests.
This article matters because it offers a firsthand account of SoHo's evolution from an incubator of avant-garde art and culture to a high-end retail destination, highlighting the tension between artistic communities and urban development. The Loft Law of 1982, which legalized artist-occupied industrial spaces, is a key backdrop, and Ishii's story exemplifies how early adopters shaped the neighborhood's identity while facing pressures of displacement. The interview also underscores the enduring influence of figures like Rei Kawakubo and Paula Cooper on American art and fashion, making it a valuable oral history of a pivotal era in New York's cultural landscape.