Iconic Art Relics Emerge at Chanel’s New NYC Flagship

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Ahead of Chanel’s forthcoming Métiers d’Art show, held December 4 at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art (the brand’s first runway spectacle in the Big Apple in over a decade), the French luxury label just unveiled its newly renovated Fifth Ave. flagship boutique in Manhattan—and the store’s exclusive, limited-edition 2.55 bag, red-bottled Chanel N°5 fragrance, and diamond-encrusted steel watch aren’t the only reasons to visit.

The 14,000-square-foot space, which now spans a whopping six stories (the top two floors are reserved for VIP clients who want a privatized shopping experience), is chock-full of impressive artwork by renowned artists like Robert Mapplethorpe, Jenny Holzer, Idris Khan, Peter Dayton, and architect Peter Marino, who designed the sleek new outpost. (Marino, a longtime Chanel collaborator, was also the brains behind Chanel’s impressive, 10-story tower in Japan’s tony Ginza district.) Some standouts: For starters, the 60-foot pearl necklace that cascades down the center of the staircase. Made of stainless steel and golden glass beads, the larger-than-life sculpture was specially commissioned by French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel. On the fifth floor, there’s a nail polish-splattered coffee table (a beauty editor’s dream) designed by Arman Armand, and on the second floor, which houses Chanel’s drool-worthy shoe salon, look up and you’ll spot a custum Goossens chandelier made of gold and crystals. Other notable pieces include Holzer’s “I Touch Your Hair,” 2006; Mapplethorpe’s “Female Torso,” 1978; and Kami’s “Untitled,” 2017, the latter of which pays tribute to the iconic quilting that appears on Chanel’s classic 2.55 handbag.

In line with the aesthetic theme of the boutique, which heavily draws upon the house’s signature codes (think elements of tweed and black and white), there are also several nods to Chanel’s founder, a notorious patron of the arts. A 1936 print of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel by German fashion photographer Horst P. Horst sits on the first floor, while gold leaf and crackled lacquers mirror the Coromandel screens found in Gabrielle’s rue Cambon apartment in Paris.

The re-opening of the boutique, which originally bowed in 1996, coincides with the arrival of the brand’s nautical-themed Cruise 2019 collection, shown in Paris this past May. Along with ready-to-wear, handbags, and footwear, the store also houses individual sections for costume jewelry, beauty, and eyewear. In other words, it’s a Chanel-lover’s fantasy come to life.

Chanel’s New York City flagship store is located at 15 East 57th St.

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