What comes to mind when you think about SoHo? For many of us, it's art and artists. Donald Judd, Eva Hesse, Richard Nonas, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Al Held, Neil Jenney, Deborah Remington, Joan Vail Thorne and more all lived and developed their craft, often together, in the downtown Manhattan neighbourhood. In an article for the New York Times, MH Miller writes that, in retrospect, SoHo was always “destined” to be colonised by artists. After the Civil War, it was primarily occupied by businesses and cast-iron warehouses. By the 1950s, the warehouses were used for storage or mostly lay empty. “Whom were these cavernous empty spaces built if not for artists?” remarks Millier. 

You can still feel this artistic energy as you walk down the streets of SoHo, now filled with French-style coffee shops, art galleries and bookshops.  The Manner, a hotel which launched in 2024, takes the area's artistic history incredibly seriously. Accented in a warm colour palette of browns, burgundies and gold, and featuring communal dining and drinks areas, The Manner brings to mind the artist lofts of the 60s and 70s. “The Manner was never meant to feel overly polished or static,” Verena Haller, Chief Design Officer at The Lifestyle Group by Hyatt, tells Dazed. “We wanted it to feel layered, personal and alive. It’s a hotel that reveals itself slowly, and one that people want to return to for different reasons at different times of day.”

During New York Fashion Week this year, The Manner also hosted several after-parties at their restaurant The Otter, including for KALLMEYER and Diotima. Below, we spoke to Haller about the hotel’s brutalist architecture and why the Manner is a place so many artists and designers are drawn to. 

What inspired the blend of Brutalist architecture with the modern aesthetic of The Manner?

Our goal was to create an environment of handcrafted luxury: not just for creativity and quality, but for the imperfections and details human hands leave behind, that can never be mass-produced. We didn’t want those details just to be seen, but also to be felt. 

There are a lot of books around the hotel. What story are they trying to tell about the hotel and SoHo?

Many of the books come from Amar Lalvani’s [the president and creative director for Hyatt ]personal collection. When we were styling the hotel, he arrived with suitcases full of them, and together we placed them in public and private spaces. It became another gesture toward creating something genuinely personal and lived-in. The books reflect curiosity, travel, design, culture and downtown New York sensibility in a way that feels instinctive, not curated.

The hotel is decorated with cast glass and polished steel chandeliers, lobby ceramic wall art, murals and totems. Where did you find inspiration for the artworks throughout the hotel?

We partnered with artisans from around the world, creatives who truly work with their hands to craft one-of-a-kind pieces. We briefed them on the project's intention, then gave them space to interpret it in their own way. That freedom brought a lot of soul into the hotel. The mural, for example, traces a visual journey from upstate New York and the Hudson Valley through the city and out toward Long Island. 

The Manner has become a popular space among artists and designers, from New York Fashion Week after-parties with Daniella Kallmeyer and Diotima to SHOWPONY’s Fall/Winter 2026 runway show. What makes The Otter such a hub for creative people?

The Otter was designed to feel like a true neighbourhood restaurant. It’s about gathering, celebrating and having a good time in a place that feels laidback and stylish. There’s an ease to it that people respond very well to.