(ANSA) – NEW YORK, APRIL 20 – Tiffany returns to its iconic store in Manhattan with a new look and a new ownership. Many things have changed since the restyling of the flagship store on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street began almost 4 years ago. In 2021, after intense negotiations, Lvmh Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton acquired Tiffany for about 16 billion dollars, and the sale was one of the largest deals ever in the luxury world. In the shop, which according to the New York Times will reopen on April 28, the executive vice president of Tiffany Alexandre Arnault (son of the founder and major shareholder of Lvmh) and the CEO, Anthony Ledru, explain that the restructuring focused on two concepts: modernity and historical heritage. The restyling has left intact the facade of the building opened in 1940 and made famous all over the world by the 1961 film with Audrey Hepburn, as well as the three-meter-high statue of Atlas holding the clock, but the real revolution took place inside ‘internal. On the ground floor, the animation of a diamond-encrusted bird flying over the New York City skyline stands out, while a Tiffany-blue statue of a woman who looks like something out of antiquity stands against a curved staircase. Then, 30-year-old Alexandre Arnault shows off another store highlight: ‘Equals Pi’, a painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat done in a shade of blue similar to the brand’s signature color that featured prominently in Tiffany’s About Love ad campaign of 2021 with Jay-Z and Beyoncé. “When people walk in from Fifth Avenue, they’ll see the Basquiat. Now it’s an important part of the Tiffany brand,” explained Arnault, who moved from Paris to New York two years ago to oversee the project. “The reopening of the Fifth Avenue Landmark is a milestone for our maison – commented Ledru instead – This is not just another flagship, for us, the Landmark is now the beacon of the brand”. (HANDLE).
