shopping trip: the gucci flagship

The 5th Avenue display window of the new Gucci flagship,
with "resurrected Gucci crest" front and center. The crest is a
recurring visual symbol throughout the store.

The women's collection on the third floor looks spacious in this photo,
but the dark carpet and the low ceilings make the space feel ponderous.
I just did not get that "exhilarated" shopping feeling.

The fixture choices -- gold racks, black and white striped walls -- are not
exactly a neutral backdrop for the clothes. What if a collection was composed
of cool tones and silvers?

The men's shoe collection on the second floor with the city as a backdrop.

Can you believe that Daniel Saynt of Fashion Indie apparently complained his way into the Gucci party at the UN? If I had only known that were an option... According to WWD, when Saynt "complained on his blog, to broad pickup around the Web, that actual New York-based bloggers had been shafted," he received an invite to the lavish party and attended a bloggers-only tour of the store hosted by chief executive Mark Lee. I decided to take a trip to the new Gucci flagship today, uninvited. Here are my observations, unsolicited.

After viewing the new store, I would like to say this: bring back the sleek, sexy, clean lines of Tom Ford's Gucci. The new flagship, which occupies the south-west corner of Trump Tower on 5th Avenue and 56th Street, employs design details that are reminiscent of the Miami in the 70s, and are rather, well, garish. I can't help but feel that the aesthetic of the Trump brand seeped through the walls and into the store; but I think the preponderance of gold is just a coincidence.

Three elements repeat throughout the store: gold, lucite, and high-shine dark wood. Gold and lucite tubing accent the back stairways. There are free-standing gold display cases accented with high-shine dark wood, the same dark wood that lines the inner walls. The ceilings seem to press downward. There are only three floors of retail space. (I expected five. That seems to be the minimum number of floors for flagships these days.) Access to the fine jewelry store through an elevator on the 3rd floor is convoluted. The only time I got a feeling of excitement about the Gucci brand was is in the shoe departments, which are bright with views of the street.

At a time when luxury retail design favors a blend of technology and innovative materials, high-shine white, glowing light boxes, flat panel screens, and etched glass glowing partitions, the dark Gucci flagship feels of the past. As I recall my experience of the store, it becomes more and more like a labyrinthine cave. For me, the store did not convey that feeling of optimism or excitement or exhilaration. I had no shopping high.

The back stairs: dark grey marble treads, alternating gold and lucite
vertical tubing give a glimpse into the selling space. The stairs at
Chanel were much more exciting.

Mannequin (no comment) and a closeup of the ubiquitous tubing.


The handbag collection display on the first floor is too dark.
The flat panel screen doesn't even add any light.