Elle's Sara McAlpine on the rise of 'The Spectacle Store' among luxury retailers and how Louis Vuitton's newly reopened London flagship fits right in.

"The face of retail changes so fast," Peter Marino, whose New York-based firm was in charge of the lengthy makeover, tells Elle, adding, "It’s very much a necessity for [brands] to have these big special statements in key landmark locations."

The Louis Vuitton London Maison on New Bond Street reopened today after undergoing 14 months of renovation to "reveal a complete reimagining of the space, featuring a sweeping double helix shaped staircase crafted in cerused oak and worked as a sculpture with an offset centre."

There are 43 artworks throughout the store — from 25 artists including site-specific commissions from Sarah Crowner, Jim Lambie, Josh Sperling, Farhad Moshiri, and Matt Gagnon — as well as an installation by James Turrell, Andreas Gursky, Alex Katz, Tracey Emin, among others. Marino also contributed custom-made seating and furniture and curated the selection of vintage designer pieces throughout the store.

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@louisvuitton New Bond Street store designed by @petermarinoarchitect opens in London ! Looking at the double helix shaped staircase, worked as a sculpture with an offset center crafted in cerused oak and Matt Gagnon’s commissioned lighting stacks – made of white oak, concrete, pine, ash, acrylic and LED. Swipe for more pics #petermarinoarchitect #petermarino #petermarinostairs #petermarinoartarchitecture #louisvuittonnewbondst #louisvuitton #london #mattgagnonstudio @petermarinoarchitect
A post shared by Peter Marino (@petermarinoarchitect) on Oct 23, 2019 at 10:09am PDT