Julia Watson created the spring planting design at the Channel Gardens, an urban oasis which serves as a corridor for pollinators within the dense city fabric while offering visitors a place of rest in the middle of the plaza. For two weeks in May, the light blue and purple hues of blooming foxgloves and irises speckled throughout this vibrant planting design, complimenting an exclusive SKIMS pop-up at the center of the garden. The spring Channel Gardens Vision was inspired by some of the most beautiful gardens in their pinnacle seasons from across the USA, including Dumbarton Oaks in Washington D.C. and Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden in California. The former is a carefully designed landscape located on a Georgetown estate which in the spring and summer are blanketed in siberian squill, daffodils, bluebells, bearded iris, siberian iris, tawny daylily, lemon lily, pansy, foxglove, primroses, icelandic poppies, and more are in bloom. The latter features plants of the Northern California coastal ecosystems and is known for its rhododendrons that produce some of the most fragrant blossoms of the year. This two-week-long activation—the first of its kind in the heart of Rockefeller Center and with over 100k visitors—carried cotton summer essentials in the weeks leading up to the month of June. Kim Kardashian herself, founder of SKIMS,  was on site to inaugurate the pop-up in May 2023.

 

The SKIMS summer pop-Up shop drew inspiration from the swim collection and the sophisticated reputation of Kardashian’s brand. The immersive baby blue pop-up, which outfitted the historic building, showcased a unique diving board water feature that flowed into the renowned Channel Gardens. Perron-Roettinger, a longtime creative collaborator of the brand, designed the diving board-inspired water display to connect the installation to the already existing water features, making the pop-up more immersive than ever.