GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — With the snip of ribbon, Main Street's newest clothing store opened on Thursday.

 

Eileen Fisher established her eponymous brand 40 years ago with an eye on easy, timeless, and sustainable clothing for women. The brand now has more than 50 storefronts and is carried in more than 300 department stores. 

 

The Great Barrington store is the sixth opened in Massachusetts. 

 

"Speaking for all of us at Eileen Fisher, we are really excited to be a part of this community," marketing strategist Jaimie Lafrano said at the ribbon cutting.

 

Lafrano said Eileen Fisher doesn't want to just be a clothing store but a place for the community and to learn from the community.

 

"It's really meant to be also a place where we want to build community, hold workshops here and do things not just selling. We want to be part of this community and learn from each other, so we're calling it 'Lab.' It's only the second one in the whole country," she said.

 

The store features a "Renew" section, where garments that have been returned for store credit and are ready to be sold again, part of the company's zero-waste initiative.

 

"These are garments that have been worn by people, and they're brought back. They get credit for it, and then we refurbish them, we clean them, and they're from previous collections of ours, and they're very efficiently priced," Lafrano said. 

 

"So it's really a place for everyone to shop at different price points and for us to learn from our consumers that come in here because they say, 'Oh, I remember this. Are we ever going to bring this back on the line?'"

 

Lafrano said a line made of recycled fabrics will be released in the fall. The garments will be brought in, taken apart and remade into new clothes.

 

The garments are largely made from organic cottons and linens, with some jersey, silks, crepes, wools and velvets. Sizes run from extra small to 3X.

 

Vice President of Design Julie Rubiner, who works closely with Fisher, said they have joked about opening a store in Great Barrington as that's where Rubiner lives.

 

"I'm just delighted that my two worlds have come together. I can kind of be with the customer more and see how the product is in real life, I'm usually behind the scenes and not at the customer facing," Rubiner said.

 

She has been with Eileen Fisher for 17 years and also owns Rubiner's Cheesemongers with her husband. She said she is excited to be able to have another store that matches with Great Barrington.

 

"I'm just excited for our town to have another new, really thoughtful store that kind of fits into the culture and vibe of this area. I think it's just going to be a fun new addition we always, as a merchant already, I just love when new stores open and bring new energy into this awesome town that I live in," she said.

 

The store is located at 316 Main St. and is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday noon to 5 p.m.