No, you can't buy The Wing's D.C. furniture
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Much of The Wing's furniture — pictured here in a photo of the former Wing's layout — will be used by The Brand Guild. Photo courtesy of 1056 Thomas Jefferson
The Wing's former Georgetown space is being turned into marketing and communications agency The Brand Guild's new D.C. headquarters.
Driving the news: The group signed a five-year lease for the 10,600-square-foot space, which will house about 50 D.C. employees come February, The Brand Guild tells Axios.
- The agency — which works with clients including Sweetgreen and Levain Bakery — also has an office in New York.
Why it matters: Ever since the women's coworking and community space The Wing closed its six remaining locations last year amid much company drama, I've chatted with lots of people wondering what was happening to its Instagram-perfect Georgetown space.
We weren't alone in these thoughts. When the company's end was announced, the internet collectively wondered: so, uh, could we snag some of those pink velvet club chairs?
- Earlier this year, shoppers rushed to a viral estate sale at The Wing's West Hollywood location.
But, bad news for would-be D.C. buyers: The Brand Guild will retain much of The Wing's former furniture, decor, and layout, the group told me — btw, no, you can't buy The Wing's Georgetown furniture.
Catch up fast: The Wing opened its D.C. location in 2018 to much fanfare, with phone booths named after trailblazers like Shirley Chisholm, a meditation room, Chanel product-stocked beauty areas, and the requisite color-coded bookshelves.
- The group was launched in 2016 by former ClassPass executive Lauren Kassan and former political flack Audrey Gelman — the latter of whom was something of a media fascination (her wedding was featured in Vogue, and several outlets have reported that Lena Dunham modeled the "Girls" character Marnie after her).
- Over the next few years, The Wing took off, with more than $100 million in funding and 11 locations by 2019.
That quickly changed as COVID brought on layoffs and Gelman stepped down as CEO in 2020 amid allegations that the company fostered an inhospitable environment for employees of color.
- The Wing had temporarily closed its Georgetown location at the start of the pandemic, and no other tenant has occupied the space since, according to The Brand Guild.
Thought bubble: Reading through early coverage of The Wing was kind of like receiving a visit from the ghosts of girl bosses past, bringing me back to a certain time after the 2016 election when millennial pink feminism was at its height. (Remember all those "The Future Is Female" shirts?)
- And, in an era where many employers are trying to figure out how to entice workers back into the office post-COVID, extra vibey and comfy spots like the former Wing space may be growing more desirable — especially if they're designed for online posting.