Fantasy flagship: New Armani store ignores the gloom

New York – A new fantasy-inspired Armani flagship has opened on Fifth Avenue, despite the current dip in consumer spending. Thumbing its nose at the stark design one might expect in these economically trying times, the store interior draws on dream-like surrealism, featuring a sculptural snaking staircase that Giorgio Armani himself has likened to the dinosaur skeletons in the American Museum of Natural History. The overwhelming effect, thanks to Rome-based studio Massimiliano & Doriana Fuksas Architects, is fabulously escapist.

Still, a pared-down luxury reigns in the single, fluid space that holds Armani’s mainline collections as well as the diffusion brands: while the opening party was full of the usual celebrities, catering did skimp on the caviar – evidence, at least, that even one of the most ostentatious luxury brands recognises the consumer trend towards stealth wealth.