Step Inside Hedi Slimane’s Vision In The New Celine Flagship Store On Bond Street
The new Celine store is part of their Art Project, and feels just as much gallery as flagship store. Designed by Hedi Slimane, Celine’s creative, artistic and image director, the building is divided into two spaces, women’s and men’s. The women’s floor is an impressive 345 square metres and is a celebration of French elegance with vintage sensibilities. Expect a multitude of folding mirrors, black and white marble floors, intriguing vintage furniture pieces and numerous artworks - there are 12 on the ground floor alone!
The Celine Art Project enlists contemporary artists to design work for Celine stores around the world, and this store sees the inclusion of commissioned works by Leilah Babirye and Nika Neelova. Leilah Babirye was born in Uganda and lives and works in New York. You can find her sculptural piece Najunga from the Kuchu Ngaali (Crested Crane) Clan, a 2.7m wooden totem, on the women’s floor. Nika Neelova, originally from Russia, lives and works in London is also a sculptor, and uses reclaimed architectural features disassociated from their original use to create her new arrangements. Lemniscate XI and Lemniscate XIV, which are made from reclaimed bannister handrails, can be seen suspended from the ceiling in the store. Both of these artists’ work sit among a variety of other pieces, including a Flemish oil painting from 1670 entitled Portrait of Maximilien de Bethune Duc de Sully in one of the changing rooms.
The basement of the building, which is dedicated to the men’s collection, is a more intimate space than the women’s ground floor, with lower ceilings and concrete floors, as opposed to the grand antique marble of upstairs. It provides a white canvas for the added elements in the room; the furniture and art are in stark contrast to their context.
The entirety of the store is a lesson in balanced aesthetic juxtaposition, working both with and against the Edwardian building in which it sits, making for a dynamic and exciting space.
Visit 40 New Bond Street to shop Celine’s homeware and fragrances along with their latest fashion collections, and immerse yourself in Hedi Slimane’s intoxicatingly artistic worldview.