Jay Z's slammed Barneys line debuts with gleaming window display - New York Daily News

Jay Z ^[1] trumpeted the arrival of his controversial, limited-edition luxury clothing line Wednesday at Barneys with a glowing, geodesic window display that stopped foot traffic along Madison Ave.

Several of the ritzy retailer's main display windows were given over to the "New York Holiday" collection with the words "A collaboration with Shawn 'Jay Z' Carter" carefully stenciled in gold leaf on all the glass.

A gleaming silver Mini Cooper car bearing the Apple logo was front and center in one, while a huge geometric design in gold and black dominated others.

Inside the upscale department store, a sign invited browsers to the third floor to “Shop for Good.”

The Madison Ave. display in Midtown is assembled Tuesday. Jay Z has said all the profit from his line will go to charity and that he will sit on a council to tackle racial profiling.

That’s where a special gallery was dedicated to Jay Z’s clothes, his “Gold” cologne and various accessories, including a $39,000 alligator strap watch.

Shoppers walked a long hallway with the collection's star-shaped insignia projected onto the walls to get into the small, minimalist room.

The blacked-out space was patrolled by burly security personnel in black suits and sunglasses and saleswomen in stylish black dresses who smiled at the steady trickle of customers.

Barneys CEO Mark Lee was given a tour of the new installation just as the store opened around 10 a.m.

Barney's New York

A bag carries the shiny logo of the Jay Z line, which features a watch that costs $39,000.

He milled around the darkened section, smiling at shoppers as a generic nighttime moving cityscape ran across the black walls and soft music pulsed through speakers.

The CEO fingered many of the items for sale and seemed particularly taken with the all-black $875 leather Brooklyn hat with python brim set next two black leather bags.

Lee interacted with many of the store's employees as he browsed the section and asked one worker if there was a lot of buzz.

Not all shoppers were sold on the collection, however.

Greetsia Tent/WireImage

Jay Z has said all the profit from his line will go to charity and that he will sit on a council to tackle racial profiling.

Rosalyn Peters, 49, a black woman from Brooklyn who was out shopping Tuesday night as the display was going up, said she won’t be wrapping up any Jay Z items this Christmas.

“He shouldn’t be collaborating with Barneys. They’re harassing black people, and he’s a black man,” she said as she was walking past the store.

Another shopper, Amanda Brown, a black woman from Queens, was resigned to it happening.

“I’m not saying Jay Z should do this, but you can’t stop it. It’s freedom of speech. It’s the free market. It’s America.”

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This 18-karat gold double ring is part of the rapper’s collection with Barneys.

A furor erupted over the “BNY NYC SCC” collection — a combination of Barneys New York and Shawn Corey Carter’s initials plus the city that inspired the gold, silver, black and silver color palette — when two black shoppers came forward in late October saying they were racially profiled at the store.

Trayon Christian, 19 and Kayla Phillips, 21, have both filed notices of claim, declaring their intent to sue the city.

Christian said he was stopped outside the Madison Ave. store April 19 after buying a $349 Salvatore Ferragamo belt. He said undercover NYPD detectives wrongly accused him of debit card fraud.

Phillips said she was stopped by undercover NYPD officers three blocks from the store Feb. 28 after buying a $2,500 Celine handbag and was accused of debit card fraud.

The Madison Ave. display is assembled Tuesday.

Neither was arrested nor charged.

After the Daily News first reported their stories, Jay Z faced mounting pressure from fans and others to drop his alliance with the upscale store.

The rapper initially responded with silence, but as the Nov. 20 date of his launch drew near, he released a statement saying he would sit on a new council set up to deal with racial profiling.

He also pledged 100% of the sales from his Barneys’ collection would go to the Shawn Carter Foundation, the charity his mother runs to help economically challenged students pay for college.

“Along with 100% of sales from the collaboration, the foundation will receive an additional 10% of all retail sales from Barneys New York stores nationwide and Barneys.com,” Jay Z said in his release.

As his blinged-out holiday windows were unveiled in Midtown, City Council officials gathered downtown at City Hall for an 11 a.m. hearing on “shop and frisk.”

Council members are expected to hear testimony from HBO actor Rob Brown and Brooklyn resident Art Palmer, who both came forward after the Barneys’ allegations went public to make similar claims about shopping at Macy’s.

On Tuesday, Barneys issued a store-commissioned report that absolved the retailer of racial profiling and said NYPD detectives took it upon themselves to target Christian and Phillips.

The NYPD didn’t immediately comment on the store’s audit.

gotis@nydailynews.com ^[12]