from bronze to straw marquetry, and nodding to house
codes via details such as lacy leather logo curtains.
Aside from their luxuriousness, what these spaces
have in common is that they are practical and inviting,
turning shopping into an appealing experience. ‘I’m
more interested in the customer than the merchandise,’
he admits. ‘Peter understood that retail is not the
most essential thing,’ says Michael Burke, CEO of
Louis Vuitton, ‘but feeling engaged and connected is.’
At the new Louis Vuitton store, for example, clients
are surrounded by comfortable seating, where they can
admire museum-quality art along with clothing and
accessories displayed for easy viewing. Natural light has
been a priority throughout Marino’s career, ever since
his wife, a costume designer, told him to uncover the
windows at New York’s Barneys department store.
Also key to his stores is contemporary art, often
site-specific. A passionate collector, Marino has not one
Rothko but two, is helping to fund the restoration of
Antonio Rizzo’s statues at the Palazzo Ducale in Venice,
and creates art himself, such as sculpted bronze boxes
for Gagosian last year. He was given free curatorial rein
at Louis Vuitton, where he chose 33 works for the space,
including a portrait of young Louis Vuitton by Yan Pei-
Ming, two colourful paintings by Kimiko Fujimura, and
Rashid Rana’s composite of 20,000 photos depicting
Place Vendôme. ‘When you work with artists, you get a
better result,’ Marino says. ‘Pope Julius wasn’t wrong in
hiring Michelangelo to paint a few ceilings.’
The architect vetted each piece with Michael Burke
and LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault. There’s obviously
a lot of trust there – Marino has worked for Arnault
since 1995, and he must be one of the only people who
dares call the luxury goods titan ‘Dude’. He says
Arnault looks over each of his plans with a sharp eye.
‘He’ll say, “I hope you don’t mind, but I think this and
this could use improvement.” I go, “Dude, not onlydon’t I mind, I’m going to get the credit for having it
look much better!”’ Shortly after our talk, he dashes off
to a meeting about his work on the iconic Samaritaine,
which LVMH is turning into a hotel and retail spaces.
Though Marino makes a large part of his living
designing stores, he rarely goes shopping – with major
projects on the go from New York to Tokyo, a KTM 1290
Super Duke R to ride and an immense garden to tend at
his Southampton estate in New York, there’s simply no
time. He also designs his own leather gear, handmade
by a ‘guy in the Dominican Republic’ and so stiff he can’t
remove his jacket without help.
Indeed, if Marino has a signature style, it’s in his
own look. ‘I rarely want to buy something someone has
designed for an anonymous person. I find that weird,
because they have not designed it for you. When I’m
into being anonymous, I will go there.’ And then there’s
that infectious laugh again: ‘At the moment, I’m not.’ ∂
petermarinoarchitect.comMARINO SURVEYS HIS HAPPY
PLACE FROM WITHIN THE
LOUIS VUITTON FLAGSHIP
HE DESIGNED LAST YEARILLUSTRATOR: JOSHUA CHECKLEYPeter Marino’s Place Vendôme123
45678 1. Chanel Fine
Jewellery, 2007- Hublot, 2010
- Dior Joaillerie, 2010
- Louis Vuitton, 2017
5. Graff, 2018
6. Fred, 1999
7. Graff, 2016
8. Bulgari, 2018
Marino must be one of
the only people who calls
Bernard Arnault ‘Dude’
Architecture
120 ∑