Tiffany’s New York Flagship Receives a Lustrous Reinvention

Now when you pass Tiffany's windows, there's even more to dream about.

Above: An astrological chandelier inspired by a Jean Schlumberger design hangs on the fourth floor, which is devoted to gold and diamond jewelry.

Towering above Tiffany & Co.'s Fifth Avenue entrance is a sculpture of Atlas holding a clock, which Charles Lewis Tiffany commissioned in the 1850s from his friend, the sculptor Henry Frederick Metzler. Originally mounted above an earlier Tiffany store, Atlas made his way uptown when the jeweler opened its flagship in 1940. Today, following the site's nearly four-year gut renovation, it's one of the few familiar vestiges left of one of the world's most famous stores.

The French luxury conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which acquired Tiffany in 2021, hired architect and ELLE DECOR A-List Titan Peter Marino to reimagine the interiors of the flagship. The result is a dynamic visual feast filled with works of art, commissioned pieces, and prized examples of both modern and vintage furnishings. "When people walk into the store, I want them to feel exhilarated, excited, thrilled," Marino said in an interview days before the store reopened in late April.

His intent is apparent the moment one enters the expansive main level of the store, now called the Landmark, where floor-to-ceiling screens showcase videos of changing views of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline, energizing the room with light and movement. Here, the most eye-catching attractions (and big social-media moments) are a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting with a background in the robin's-egg blue shade of a Tiffany box, as well as the historic 128.54-carat Tiffany Diamond set in a necklace for all to see and photograph. And, of course, there are vitrines filled with sparkling jewels.

At the heart of the building is a glamorous, curvilinear, Elsa Peretti–inspired staircase in cerused oak with an undulating glass balustrade studded with rock crystal that winds from floors three through eight. For the first time, both Peretti and Paloma Picasso, who each created defining jewelry for the brand, will have dedicated corners to showcase their unique style and spirit. There is also a spotlight on Jean Schlumberger, whose signature jewels are displayed in a newly reimagined salon.

While the old flagship felt like a traditional retail site, the new store more closely resembles a gallery, with bright spaces filled with art and design. Marino, who personally attended to every detail, chose artist Daniel Arsham's 12-foot-tall bronze Venus sculpture, created in 2022, for the bottom of the staircase. And that's just for starters: Museum-caliber works—by James Turrell, Rashid Johnson, Damien Hirst, Anna Weyant, and others—appear on every floor. Meanwhile, the sixth floor, devoted to home goods, features several works by Julian Schnabel, who also designed a series of plates with names of guests—such as Lou Reed and Ben Gazzara—whom he would like to have at his table. "The combination of art and architecture is meant to make the whole greater and create richer overall experiences," Marino says.

One of the most dazzling spaces in the building is a glowing three-story glass addition, positioned above the 1940 limestone- ​and-granite facade by Cross & Cross. The contemporary extension was conceived by architect Shohei Shigematsu of the firm OMA New York, who also directed the building's structural design. Of the 10th floor, reserved for VIPs, Marino notes: "I had free rein to design an apartment floating above 57th Street and Fifth Avenue with a view of Central Park."

For the space's unique finishes and furnishings, he collaborated with several New York artisans, including Nancy Lorenz, whose lacquer wall panels are inlaid with mother-of-pearl and white gold. Marino also sourced rare collectible furniture, from a vintage Gio Ponti mirrored vanity to a 1960 Paul Evans Cityscape dining table evoking the Manhattan skyline to a 1990 Peter Lane glazed stoneware Philodendron side table with a bronze base.

Inside the Blue Box Café, headed by famed chef Daniel Boulud, Marino had hundreds of Tiffany boxes strewn from the ceiling in a fantastical display. Blue hues of varying shades are woven throughout the decor in commissioned art, tabletop accessories, and furnishings. The Tiffany & Co. Toile china pattern is also making its debut, displayed on the home floor, where artistic director Lauren Santo Domingo unveiled an entirely new collection of contemporary designs.

As much as Marino reimagined Tiffany's as a contemporary cultural hub of art, design, and commerce, he also paid tribute to some of its smallest and most memorable works of art, those being the window displays that were conceived by the late Gene Moore. Some of those whimsical displays have been restored and hang like art in the store. As the designer of the famous Fifth Avenue windows for decades, Moore created miniature theatrical scenes that seduced passersby to stop and dream. Now when they pass Tiffany's windows, there's even more to dream about.

This story originally appeared in the Summer 2023 issue of ELLE DECOR. SUBSCRIBE

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