This morning I was invited as a guest of Chanel for an exclusive preview of the Melbourne flagship store that opened today.
‘Guest of Chanel’ are words I never thought I’d write in my blogging career but seven years in, I feel as though I’ve hit some sort of pinnacle: Chanel is after all a brand I have been writing about since 2007 and there are 13 pages of content on Lady Melbourne referring to the house of luxury.
So ‘What was it like?!’ I hear you ask:
Well I can tell you that it is five times bigger than the previous store on Collins Street, the Flinders Lane flagship now taking over 620 sq. feet in what was previously the building for Scientology in Melbourne.
The boutique’s conception was entrusted to New York based architect Peter Marino, who is renowned for his ability to re-interpret the aesthetic codes which embody the House. Meticulous alterations were made to the facade when the building was comprehensively refurbished in 2013 including the enlargements of window openings and the creation of balconettes to the first and second floor windows, recalling an elegant Parisian façade. An additional floor was constructed on the roof along with the creation of a roof top garden with gorgeous city views and a sun drenched balcony. I could have moved in there and then.
Combining intimacy and elegance into each of the defined rooms, the boutique draws inspiration from Mademoiselle Chanel’s Parisian apartment on 31, rue Cambon in Paris.
Both floors of the boutique comprise of a series of intimate salons, articulated around a central atrium staircase. A central corridor plan on the ground floor provides clients with a leisurely browsing experience between the different accessory categories: handbags, including the latest colours and fabrics of the iconic 2.55 and the new editions of the Boy CHANEL handbag, shoes, costume jewellery, small leather goods and a textured wall devoted to sunglasses.
Upstairs you’ll find the Ready-to-Wear ‘salons,’ featuring the latest collection by Karl Lagerfeld for CHANEL in a decor adhering to the House’s emblematic palette of black, white and beige. Three adjacent Ready-to-Wear salons, as well as a VIP room, evoke a residential feel where clients are invited to linger on the tweed sofas facing a 19th century antique fireplace in the style of Louis XV.
Continuing the brand’s long-standing commitment to the arts, as started by Mademoiselle Chanel herself, specially commissioned works of art were selected for this boutique. In the Ready-to-Wear areas lamps by Goossens, a bronze table by Laurence Montano, as well as a coffee table by Ingrid Donat is on display.
The Chanel Flinders Lane boutique art collection also includes acclaimed Aboriginal artist Dorothy Napangardi’s work “Karlangu” which is featured on the wall of the staircase.
To mark the celebration of the new CHANEL Flinders Lane boutique opening, a limited edition Boy CHANEL handbag has been specially created by Karl Lagerfeld bearing the unique signature “Exclusive Edition Melbourne.”
The new bag combines the traditions of Chanel’s skilled leatherwork with the metallic iridescent sheen and use of luxurious python skin intended to represent the sophisticated, artistic Melbourne woman.
