The Other IHOP (International House of Patterns)
After dipping a toe in New York’s retail waters with its shop-in-a-shop at the Soho Crate & Barrel last fall, Finland’s pattern-loving textile giant Marimekko takes the full plunge with a 4,000-square-foot flagship, opening tomorrow. Designed by Japanese architectural firm IMA, which also oversaw the brand’s Helsinki store, the shop sells bright merchandise that pops against white cubby shelves and floral pouf seating. In addition to the familiar loud-print shower curtains and dishware, the stock will feature the full apparel collection, from graphic wrap dresses to candy-striped tights and neon winter coats (200 Fifth Ave., at 23rd St.; 212-843-9121).
No Emerald on This Isle
The Gaelic word for black, dubh, also represents the existential feelings of blackness, a theme that will be explored in the American Irish Historical Society’s exhibition “Dubh—Dialogues in Black.” The show will feature work from Irish and American designers in the fields of architecture, painting, and furniture and jewelry design, among others, all of it demonstrating the emotional complexity and nuance of the most basic hue (991 Fifth Ave., at 80th St.; 10/7–11/13; M–Th, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; W by appointment only; 212-288-2263; aihs.org)
Channeling Old Hollywood
This year’s Designer Visions showcase takes classic cinema as its inspiration. The interior-design exhibition, installed in three units of a prewar, Central Park–adjacent apartment building on the Upper East Side, will be open to the public for three days in October beginning this Sunday afternoon. House Beautiful, Town & Country, and Veranda magazines sponsor the exhibition; however, the entire cost of admission goes directly to Art of Elysium, which provides art kits to hospitalized children (1212 Fifth Ave., at 102nd St.; 10/9, 10/15, 10/16; 11 a.m.–4 p.m.; $35; theartofelysium.org/designer_visions).
The Street As Museum
This Saturday, Nuit Blanche New York directors Ethan Vogt and Ken Farmer will lead the New Museum panel discussion “Illuminating the City: Site-Specific Art As Urban Activator,” based on the group’s recent all-night light and art installation in Greenpoint. The talk, which will include Storefront for Art and Architecture director Eva Franch and representatives from the Open Space Alliance for North Brooklyn and the Guggenheim Museum, will focus on how public art affects our concept of urban space (235 Bowery, at Prince St.; 4 p.m.; 212-219-1222; newmuseum.org)