A RT AT TA C K
With a black and white marble floor that looks like cracked
magma, ice-white walls and more mirror, glass and chrome
than a vintage-car showroom, Celine’s new temple of
consumerism is grown-up shopping for grown-up fashion
addicts. On New Bond Street in Mayfair, the luxury label’s
flagship store takes retail to a whole new level. Intimidating?
A bit. Impressive? Certainly. And so bright as to offer a
genuine excuse to wear sunglasses indoors.
But be warned: this is less a gentle, breezy, holistic
browsing experience and more like walking into a gallery,
mainly due to the impressive number of artworks on
display. Altogether there are 16 pieces across the 466 sq m
space, with everything from a conceptual copper and clay-
brick sculpture by Danish artist Marie Lund in the window
to a 17th-century painting, Portrait of Maximilien de Béthune,
Duc de Sully, in the men’s changing room in the basement.Is it an art gallery?
Is it a library? No, it’s
a shop! Retail is
reinventing itself to
make us fall in love
with shopping again
— and it’s working,
says Jonathan Heaf
This picture and opposite
Phones at the ready —
Celine’s new London store is
becoming one of the capital’s
most Instagrammed shops32 • The Sunday Times Style