Chanel had the concept of playing house in mind when conceiving the interior design of its latest light-flooded 750 sq m boutique in Brompton Cross. The new space is merely a short walk away from its previous South Kensington location (which Italian label MSGM moved into last week), and its new three-storey outpost on the corner of Draycott Avenue and Walton Street has all the statuesque serenity of a townhouse, with several ground floor entrances.
The Parisian maison enlisted long time starchitect collaborator Peter Marino, to conceive its latest plush, art-filled space. Marino is the mind behind a host of the label’s global stores, from its Place Vendôme fine jewellery boutique in Paris, to its New Bond Street space in London, which was restored in 2015. Although lavish, Marino’s latest outpost has a comfortable, residential feeling.
The boutique is populated with soft furnishings in Chanel's signature fabrics.
Behind the completely renovated façade (with a camellia tree and topiary hedge-lined terrace), the boutique’s three floors are imagined in Chanel’s signature black and white colour scheme, with exuberant new accents of pink and blue. Carpets and furnishings in the house’s signature tweeds and gold flecked bouclé lend a tailored texture to the space, and delicate custom-woven window panels created by embroidery specialist Lesage, line windows in a residential and refined interior design touch.
Chanel looked to the 31 rue Cambon apartment home of its founder as inspiration, with an artwork-splashed space that nods to Gabrielle Chanel’s own commitment as an art patron. Jean-Michel Othoniel’s ‘Piece Unique’ (2009), a black murano glass and mirror polished sculpture hangs suspended above the store’s graphic staircase.
Also within the boutique’s interconnecting salons, which host a wide selection of accessories, ready-to-wear, watches and fine jewellery, its lifts and sumptuous changing rooms, feature abstract artworks by Michal Rovner, Erik Lindman and Jason Martin, their black and white hues echoing the iconographic shades of Chanel.
In the ground floor shoe salon, a textured Coromandel lacquered wall (a bespoke commission by Nancy Lorenz), echoes the polished dark wooden surfaces of the boutique, and reflects Gabrielle Chanel’s own passion for collecting Coromandel screens. Upstairs on the first and second floors, Saporiti chairs and antique Louis XV armchairs provide luxurious seating for Chanel customers settling into the haute new South Kensington home of the brand.
The softly furnished space features seating and carpets in silk, wool, tweed and bouclé, which nod to the favoured fabrications of the house
Black and white fixtures nod to the signature shades of the house, and feature alongside custom artworks
The soft furnishings and salon style layout of the boutique lends a residential feeling to the space
A minimalist metal and glass staircase connects the three floors of the space, which are designed as sleek interconnected salons
The store has been designed in the brand's signature black and white, alongside accents of pink and blue
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Chanel website
ADDRESS
200 Walton Street
Chelsea
London SW3 2JL
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