NEW YORK – As a rule, Chanel has always paid homage to its founder, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel. Now, walking through the firm’s jewelry boutiques will be like stepping into the late designer’s fabled Rue Cambon abode.
Starting with the newly reoutfitted Hong Kong flagship that opened this month and the Ala Moana, Hawaii, boutique that opens Thursday, the stores have been designed by architect Peter Marino with two-tier black-and-white lacquer panels that resemble tweed, Goosen chandeliers, plush beige sofas and a reinterpretation of a bronze sculpture of a deer that Chanel kept at her home.
The Ala Moana store has three rooms: a living room, a library and a bedroom that is reserved for the most confidential retail binges.
Other Chanel jewelry boutiques will be redesigned according to this style. The company is undergoing a major renovation of its Michigan Avenue store in Chicago to begin in either January or February of this year and the Beverly Hills store will undergo a complete overhaul in May to be finished next fall.
“What’s been very interesting for us in working with Peter Marino over the past two years is the evolution of the concept. It evolved with each locale,” said Barbara Cirkva, executive vice president for fashion at Chanel Inc. “It’s not a cookie-cutter concept.”
Cirkva said the brand’s watch and jewelry business has grown considerably over the last few years, though she wouldn’t divulge sales figures. Chanel has designed jewelry since 1995. Cirkva credits much of the increase to the recent launch of the popular J12 ceramic watch, which has had many imitators in the luxury and main-floor categories.
“When you’re investing in fine jewelry, you want to feel that the brand is providing the high-quality stones, design and workmanship,” added Cirkva. “And little by little, we’re becoming a go-to source for it.”