It’s a big day at Meruert Tolegen. The designer, who has been a finalist for both the LVMH and CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund prizes, is opening her first store at 39 Wooster Street in New York’s SoHo.

“I want to bring people to experience the actual world,” she said. “People have to see my garments and touch them and feel them.”

Tolegen is on to something, since her work is full of so many details that an image on Instagram doesn’t capture the nuances of her skill set and craft. Filled with faux dark wood and dirt cone sculptures, the space set the mood for her romantic and darkly ethereal line up. For spring she’s focusing on tailoring, which she has always had but she wanted to get “immersed” in this season, with, for example, a puff sleeved jacket with nipped waist top coat, lined in mus

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