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Remember when Kevin Mcallister ordered a cheese pizza at the The Plaza, sipped Coca-Cola from a champagne flute and rode up to New York’s finest toy store, “Duncan’s Toy Chest” in a sparkling white limo? That iconic Home Alone 2 scene will be etched in our collective consciousness forever, and today, the toy store in which Duncan’s Toy Chest was based on, FAO Schwarz, came to life on model Gigi Hadid.
A New York institution and one of the most iconic stores on Fifth, FAO Schwarz closed back in 2015 following fiscal issues, but on November 16 is reopening its doors, this time at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. And to celebrate, they have enlisted the help of the supermodel to get the party started. Hadid is set to redesign the store’s iconic toy solider costumes, which is going to include female soldiers – a first for the brand. “[FAO Schwarz] was my favorite thing as a kid,” she told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show. “They called and were like, ‘We are going to have someone design the soldier uniforms for the first time. Will you do it?'” She continued: “The soldiers standing outside will be my design. They are going to have female soldiers for the first time, which I am really excited about.”
And to mark the occasion, she had a major mani moment at the hands of celebrity nail artist Mei Kawajiri. In keeping with the festive theme (and the soldier’s outfits), a palette of white, red, pink, black and gold was used, with each nail bed boasting a different piece of nail art. There were the stores’ iconic initials, “FAO”, spelt across three nails with fancy. There was a tonal diamond, glitter stripes and twinkling stars.
There was even a cute giraffe – an homage to the giant plush toy Gigi had in her room as a child – and a beautiful face crafted meticulously with flecks of gold glitter.
If this doesn’t get you into the festive spirit, we don’t know what will. (Except maybe reruns of Home Alone and Home Alone 2).
