The season’s most exciting new U.S. showrooms and storefronts come from Italian brands that highlight the good life.
Kartell SoHo gets an Instagram-friendly update
Gone are the stark white walls and pedestals that displayed the brand’s plastic contemporary furniture with a museum-like effect. Instead, Kartell’s New York outpost has been softened with a playful but muted wallcovering that serves as a backdrop for walls of furniture that appear to float on glass shelves.
The redesign is Kartell’s response to the brand’s shifting retail business, says John J. Jenkin, CEO of Kartell U.S. “Social media has changed the way we communicate with our customer,” he explains. Many young fans of the brand may not know or revere the names of Kartell’s iconic pieces—Philippe Starck’s Sir Gio table and Louis Ghost chair, or Ferruccio Laviani’s Bloom fixture. “But show them a picture and they recognize the table, the chair, the light,” he says. “It means that the shop today has to be a visual experience. Before, people were afraid to touch the furniture—it was [displayed] like art. While we are not changing the mission of our products, this new layout encourages people to have an experience, to reach out and grab the products.”
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