What’s better than a room full of Chanel? 14,000 square-feet and five floors of Chanel creations by Karl Lagerfeld—including ready-to-wear, handbags, shoes, costume jewelry and eyewear, watches and fine jewelry, fragrances, and beauty.
After a two year renovation, the Parisian brand unveiled the newly designed 57th street boutique by architect Peter Marino—and it’s the stuff of Chanel dreams. Take a tour of and see some of the exclusive products you can only find between Madison and 5th Avenue.
A wall of shoes and bags greet you upon entering…The finishes around the store include hand-applied matte wall finishes, hand-woven tweed textiles and hammered bronze railings.
The focal point of the space is an entwined 60-foot tall necklace sculpture that cascades down the center of the four-story central staircase, commissioned from the French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel.
The second floor is home to the shoe salon, with a custom Goossens chandelier. Here you can find all the classics—the two-toned slingback, ballerina flat, beach espadrille and sneakers as well as bags including the 2.55, 11.12, Boy CHANEL, CHANEL’s Gabrielle and the newly introduced CHANEL 31 handbag, as well as costume jewelry and eyewear.
The boutique’s opening corresponds with the arrival of the Cruise collection, which showed in Paris last May, when a larger-than-life cruise ship terminal was erected in the Grand Palais—with a nautical inspired collection to match.
On the third floor, there are two salons that showcase ready to wear collections and a dedicated space for knitwear.
There are two more ready to wear salons on the fourth floor. The word of the day here is, options.
Throughout the store, Peter Marino gives nods to Gabrielle Chanel and the codes of the house. Gold leaf and crackled lacquers as well as actual Coromandel screens can be found throughout the boutique and reference the walls of Gabrielle Chanel’s apartment on rue Cambon in Paris.
The fifth floor feels like the chicest apartment in NYC and is reserved for VIP private shoppers.
Graphic artwork adorns the space, including works by Robert Mapplethorpe, two pieces from Olafur Eliasson’s “Eighteen Moons in Penumbra” series, Jenny Holzer’s “I Touch Your Hair”, a piece by Peter Dayton, and several works by Y.Z. Kami, including a portrait of Gabrielle Chanel.
Of course, there are products you can only get on site, including a limited edition 2.55 handbag and wallet with sweet New York-inspired charms, and two one-of-a-kind red or black alligator 11.12 handbags with diamond encrusted hardware. There is also a limited edition steel Code Coco watch with a diamond-set bezel and the launch of a new scent, Les Exclusifs de Chanel 1957, a layered musk fragrance, created by Chanel’s in-house perfumer Olivier Polge.
Source: Harpers Bazaar