House Of Dior New York LaunchesThe LVMH-Led Brand’s New Retail Concept

The exterior of the new House of Dior New York store.

Photo Courtesy of Dior

While the Dior Maison founded by Monsieur Christian Dior touts its home base on Avenue Montaigne in Paris where the brand was founded in 1947, the LVMH-owned marquee brand has just reopened and rebranded its New York flagship store on the Big Apple’s premiere shopping corridor, 57^th Street, which also harkens back to the brand’s first US retail presence that opened in 1948 and was just ‘steps away’ according to a company release.

Designed by house favorite architect Peter Marino, the new House of Dior New York location is the first in the world to house the designer labels’ entire offerings, including women’s, men’s, beauty, and home, under one roof. Sitting at the corner of Madison, with the under-construction Louis Vuitton store just west on the 5^th avenue corridor, the two flagships with their guaranteed impressive façades cement the Arnault family’s retail might.

Marino, for his part, leaned into his expertise in architecture and interior design and combined it with his in-depth knowledge of the French house, aiming for a customer experience that involves space, light, and a sensation of joy.

“There is a French limestone façade and windows wrapping 57th St. and Madison Avenue, while inside we carved a double-height space to create this light and space. Instead of typical display windows, a garden was planted on this iconic corner referencing Christian Dior as a gardener and his gardens in Granville which are also part of Dior’s brand DNA,” Marino said via email adding, “There are VIP salons, an interior garden by Belgian landscaper Peter Wirtz, a café, Dior Maison, Dior Spa, dressed in works of art and unique and custom furniture. Dior is as passionate about art as I am. We have commissions from major artists such as Karine Laval, Jennifer Steinkamp, and Nir Hod, as well as unique artworks by Miriam Ellner, Robert Mapplethorpe, Jean-Michel Othoniel, Charles Jones, and Robert Polidori.”

With a pre-opening event allowing a sneak peek for VIP clients and press, guests discovered the four-story store which encompasses complete line offerings to include ready-to-wear and leather goods from Dior and Dior Homme collections, the last to be designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri and Kim Jones respectively, the fine jewelry offerings and Haute Joaillerie from Victoire de Castellane and the world of Dior Beauty to include the first Dior Spa in the US as well as the first to be housed within a store and Dior Maison accessible through a separate entrance on 57^th Street. The expanded boutique also features the first Dior “Colorama”—the chromatic wall displays that, in this instance, feature 485 recreated styles from all categories throughout the brand’s history—in the US and lines the circular staircases from the first to the second floor and the second to the third. While the previous store iteration separated the women’s and men’s stores, now they flow together, adjoined by the stairwell featuring the rainbow-like display.

Throughout the store are fine art pieces Marino referenced, both existing and those created for the store, especially in a series of tableaus and wall-sized panels. For instance, on the main floor, a Niki de Saint Phalle sculpture accents a jewelry and small leather goods display case while a mother-of-pearl and rose quartz mural of a rose graces a spa salon.

The color scheme for the women’s space is a creamy white and gold with accents of silver and even rose gold. In contrast, the men’s space is similarly rooted but features furniture in navy blue and grey with traditional Versailles parquet flooring throughout.

The second and third floors feature VIP jewelry and ready-to-wear suites for women, with a first-of-its-kind in the US bespoke men’s made-to-measure suiting service. Artwork includes pieces from Nir Hod and Tony Scherman, photographic works by Charles Jones and Robert Mapplethorpe, furniture crafted by Michele Oka Doner and Roland Mellan, Plum Blossom, a painting by Jean-Michel Othoniel, and River Blossom, an Eglomisé gilded panel and painting by Miriam Ellner. The fourth floor houses the magical retreat for the state-of-the-art luxury Dior Spa, which also features the complete line of Dior Beauty to include make-up, skincare, and fragrance, which Marino describes as “the ideal spa for myself or my friends.”

With its own entrance, Dior Maison is the first stand-alone boutique globally with its own dedicated space that features 35 customizable colors for its cannage and toile de Jouy dinnerware patterns, and a café setting featuring the Lily of the Valley dinnerware and glassware styles with pop-up courtesy of The Lowell Hotel serving coffee and tea.

In a nod to the luxury group’s sustainability efforts, the rest of the store’s garden is peppered throughout the store via a flora and fauna delight made by Dior in house artisans from material scraps such as leathers, zippers, fringe trims and the brand’s signature monogram fabrics to create flowers, trees and a Noah’s Ark-worthy array of woodland creatures such as squirrels, foxes, a peacock, pigeons, butterflies and a mechanical woodpecker tapping away at the one of upcycled material trees. The brand’s bee insignia, also a symbol for France, was bestowed upon guests as a memento of a slice of Granville in Midtown Manhattan.