AT A CELEBRITY-STUDDED store opening at the Landmark last December, two men in black seemed dazed by the high-wattage staging. Yet, although clearly not fashionistas, they were pivotal to the dramatic set-up that made the retail space as much of an attraction as its luxury products.
Both are architects and the store is a Louis Vuitton boutique. Tokyo-based Jun Aoki created a 12-metre-high facade assembled from 7,000 steel louvers printed with the familiar LV chequer-board pattern. New Yorker Peter Marino made a glass staircase with an electronic panel displaying digital art.
Just a stone's throw away, in Chanel's boutique in Prince's Building, Marino also designed a number of display areas to show works by international artists. Camelia, a conte crayon drawing by US artist Joseph Stashkevetch, faces the windows on the upper floor, and Pearls, a huge sculpture by Jean-Michel Othoniel, is suspended inside a glass-enclosed stairwell. In the VIP salon, Brazilian artist Vik Muniz's diamond-dusted portrait of Coco Chanel recalls Andy Warhol's work.
Fashion and lifestyle purveyors have learnt over the past decade the importance of having standout design not only for their products but also in their shops. More recently, however, they've been holding art exhibitions in their outlets and even commissioning works.
This is fine art as foreplay to shopping. But can concept installations help sell handbags? Many luxury brands and department stores seem to think so. Agnes b. helped pioneer in-store art. Hermes has introduced dedicated gallery spaces to its boutiques in New York, Tokyo and Singapore. Lane Crawford has initiated a number of programmes to bring art into its stores. Last month, Sogo mounted an exhibition of sculptor Yabuuchi Satoshi's figures as part of its effort to promote Japanese culture.
Retail consultant Laurence Peltier has her own theory about the relationship between art and luxury brands. 'It's natural that Hong Kong quickly adopts art in a retail environment, within a China that has experienced the Cultural Revolution during which art was rejected,' she says.
