The transformation of Celine is gaining steam. Following creative director Hedi Slimane’s first collection shown late last year in Paris – mind you, it wasn’t an event hailed by all critics and fans – it’s now the retail spaces of the revered fashion house that see a brand new look, and the first one up is the flagship store on swanky Madison Avenue in New York City. It’s quite surprising to see that just as the catwalk looks, the chosen retail design to a certain extent resembles the aesthetic that Slimane picked for the Saint Laurent boutiques, featuring a minimalist environment captured by slabs of marble and shiny metal detailing. However, the generous dimensions of the 465 sqm. (5,000 sq.ft.) space and its soaring height put unique spin on the design, creating a slight cathedral effect. What sets the premises apart are Brutalism-inspired touches, captured by huge blocks of granite and basalt, in addition to wooden furnishings that resemble Gerrit Rietveld‘s earliest designs. Heightening the sense of sophistication, if not to further anchor Celine‘s image as a highly cultured fashion house, works by artists Jose Dávila and James Balmforth adorn the premises. The store opening marks the global kick-off for renewal of all existing Celine boutiques, and obviously serve as blueprint for future stores. The renewed flagship store carries the brand’s full range of women’s and the newly launched men’s collections.
Celine
650 Madison Avenue (Upper East Side)
New York, NY 10022
Telephone: +1 212 5353703
Mon-Sat 11-6
Sun 12-5
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
