Architect Peter Marino dreams up a serene cube in Beverly Hills for the French fashion house
Words by ELIZABETH VARNELL
Designed as an antidote to louder architectural voices in Beverly Hills, the new four-story Chanel boutique, envisioned by Peter Marino and rebuilt from the ground up, is clad in an outer envelope of white crystallized glass. The staggered cube-like flagship features a four-story tree-lined atrium at its center — complete with staircases and a spiraling sculpture resembling a pearl necklace, Golden Lasso, created by French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel — that makes it feel lit from within.
The entirely rebuilt flagship, now the house’s largest stateside shop spanning more than 30,000 square feet, includes ground floor spaces dedicated to bags, shoes, and accessories; the house’s famed fragrance assortment; and its extensive beauty line. A set of two nail colors, Fast Car (a lipstick red ode to the region’s auto culture) and Denim (reflecting California’s deep blue hues), is an opening exclusive, as are black butterfly-shaped sunglasses emblazoned with the house’s name in playful hues. Nearby is another artistic commission by multimedia Israeli artist Michal Rovner, who reframes and abstracts poppies, a plant ubiquitous in the state.
Jewelry and watches also reside on the ground floor in thin vitrines and bronze-and-glass museum cases. Rock crystal Goossens chandeliers imported from Paris illuminate the rooms clad in light and dark plaster, cast bronze, gray wave stone, black wood, and textiles. Capsule collections of Coco Crush necklaces and other haute joaillerie pieces from a Beverly Hills capsule of sun and star motifs — including a Blazing Sun brooch made of faceted yellow beryls, a Pink Sunset ring beset with pink and yellow sapphires and orange garnets, and Rising Star earrings with pink and blue sapphires — all herald the opening. A new haute horlogerie design, the Monsieur Beverly Hills edition (with a 18-karat white gold case, bezel, and crown paired with a marine blue enamel dial and an embossed calfskin strap and bezel set with baguette-cut diamonds), is also on hand at the new boutique.
The second floor houses Spring/Summer 2023 ready-to-wear inspired by Alain Resnais’ New Wave staple, Last Year at Marienbad, and designed by creative director Virginie Viard. Ribbon or ostrich feather-adorned pastel tweeds join rhinestone booties, suits, short coat dresses, and cardigan jackets. Designs ideal for the region’s golden sunsets and summer nights are made of white lace, gold panne velvet, and light black chiffon.
Top floors are filled with suites for VIPs, changing rooms, and a penthouse, anchored by sun-filled street-facing windows. A roof deck awash in planter boxes overlooks the courtyard greenery, surrounding streets, and Hollywood Hills above the city. The deck’s black-framed aluminum trellises evoke the outlines of Los Angeles’ postwar Case Study houses that helped make the city a modernist mecca. 400 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills, 310-278-5500; chanel.com.
Feature image: All images © Chanel.
May 4, 2023.
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