collaboration station

The Store That Looks Like a Sketchbook

Photo: Ricky Zehavi

If you’ve ever wondered what it be like to step inside an artist’s mind, visit Van Cleef & Arpels’ New York flagship on the corner of 5th Avenue and 57th Street. Beginning this month, artist Alexandre Benjamin Navet reimagined the French jeweler’s key boutiques around the world.

Navet’s joyful work spans textiles and decoration, oil pastel frescos, design objects, drawings, and watercolors, but this is the first time he’s done an entire store. Inspired by Van Cleef & Arpel’s floral jewelry designs (something the brand has been doing for 100 years now), he took over the fronts and interiors of Van Cleef boutiques around the world with his graphic and colorful designs. For the New York flagship, whose façade has largely remained untouched since the 1940s, it’s a complete takeover that was in the works for over a year. There’s gigantic flower installations on the façade of the boutique, custom drapes, upholstering, wallpaper, carpets, and even books and vases.

“My intention for this project was that people feel like walking into a giant sketchbook. This kind of installation is pretty unexpected in a high jewelry boutique. The unexpected creates joy and emotion,” Navet told the Cut. “What is interesting in this kind of work is that there is a dialogue with the brand, their story telling, and their history. I hope people like it.”

Get a glimpse of his work at Van Cleef & Arpels’ New York flagship below. And if you decide to stop by IRL, the installation will be up until the end of October.

Photo: Ricky Zehavi.
Photo: Ricky Zehavi.
Photo: Ricky Zehavi
The Store That Looks Like a Sketchbook