ELLE.COM/UKNove mbe r 2O19You’ll find both of these at
Louis Vuitton’s New Bond Street
flagship, the latest example of
this shift, opening 23 October.
Reopening after a 14 -month
makeover, the newly designed
space is a multistorey expo
fitted with the work of nine
renowned artists, which – unlike
the art you find in a concept
store – is intended to be viewed, rather than purchased.
‘The face of retail changes so fast,’ says Peter Marino, who designed
the store. He’s something of a luxury-space tsar, having worked on
Vuitton’s international outposts and collaborated with Chanel, Fendi
and Dior on their flagships. ‘It’s very much a necessity for [brands]
to have these big special statements in key landmark locations.’
The second you cross the threshold of the New Bond Street store,
you enter what Vuitton describes as a ‘changeable gallery space’.
For Marino, this is about more than the art itself. It’s about replicating
the experience of the gallery – the classic white-walled cube. ‘In my
eyes, the ultimate luxury is space and light,’ he says, adding that we’re
seeing this across the board in premium retail. ‘There has been a realELLEMood BoardTHE ART of
COMMERCE
FROM LOUIS VUIT TONtoCELINE, STORES
ARE INSTALLING ART THAT RIVALS THE
COLL E C T IONSofWORLD - RENOWNED
GALLERIES. ELLE EXPLORES THE
RISE OF ‘SPECTACL E SHOPPING’63F
WORDSbySARA McALPINELOOK, DON’T TOUCH
Far left: Louis
Vuitton Saks Fifth
Avenue store, New
York. Left and below:
Louis Vuitton,
Vendome store, Parisour years ago,
almost every shop
started to rebrand
itself as a ‘concept
store’, throwing in
potted plants and fitting designer
cabinets, crammed with carefully
curated trinkets that spoke to a
lifestyle beyond clothing. It was
a shrewd response to the death
knell that bricks-and-mortar shopping would soon be replaced by the
internet. After all, online sales now account for 2O% of all retail purchases,
while one in 12 stores on the high street have closed in the past five
years. That means retailers have had to shut up (shop, that is) or catch up.
Part of that catching-up strategy has meant physical shops have
had to transform into places of spectacle and performance, offering
experiences that can’t be replicated online. This means that the most
forward-thinking stores (and brands) have become shopping spaces-
cum-galleries, betting on Instagrammable experiences as their USP.
‘The emphasis is no longer on products,’ says Luca Solca, a consultant
specialising in premium retail. In other words, brands want you to come
for the jumbo-stitch panel art, and stay for the patent, rivet-punched boots.