A Brand New Bag

Sarah Maud Powell -- Interior Design, 4/1/2005 12:00:00 AM

It makes perfect sense that Judith Leiber, one of the country's few producers of couture handbags, should commission a made-to-measure flagship boutique on New York's tony Madison Avenue. What's perhaps surprising is that the job went to Gensler, the venerable contract firm associated more with corporate office spaces and airport lounges (albeit decidedly high-concept ones) than glittering emporiums that cater to socialites.

According to Judith Leiber creative director Frank Zambrelli, however, the firm was a natural choice. "The Gensler team got that the store isn't the star of the show," he says. "It's the backdrop for the real stars—the collections."

The 3,200-square-foot, split-level shop is located in the landmark Helmsley Carlton House and is the former site of the original Maxim's restaurant. "We talked a lot about how to make the space welcoming without being overly precious or cozy," recalls Gensler principal Mark Morton. "To invoke an element of timeless old New York," he continues, "we landed on the idea of creating the feeling of an art deco Park Avenue apartment."

The patrician bones of the original 1940's structure required only the most subtle of face-lifts. "We added some minor stepping in the ceiling to accommodate the recessed lighting," Morton explains. "Otherwise, there are few bells and whistles."

In fact, the shop's sense of sleek understatement allows the company's luxe wares—crystal-encrusted minaudières, strappy crocodile sandals, chinchilla-trimmed nappa-leather gloves—to take center stage. The sumptuous, tone-on-tone backdrop of the main salon and lower level, reached by four steps down, is marked by wool wall-to-wall carpet in a deep champagne. Curvilinear built-in display cases are lined in silk and trimmed in European oak. Desks and freestanding displays are veneered in warm rosewood. Drawers and cabinets all lock magnetically, so no hardware interrupts the flow of the clean-lined surfaces. To maintain a sense of luminosity, what Morton calls "whiteness," 1 1/4-inch-thick clear acrylic resin was used for display shelves in lieu of glass, which at that thickness can read green. Chairs adapted from an original art deco design and upholstered in cream kidskin leather and a custom ottoman covered in taupe silk mohair enhance the well-heeled ambiance.

A 30-foot-wide Shimmerscreen—a brass ball-chain curtain—runs the entire east wall of the main salon, opening at strategic points to expose either street-facing windows or mirrored panels between them. "We were dealing with a space that's 18 inches below street level," Morton says. "So we had to 'organize' the wall for customers inside the store with a bit of optical illusion." All the better to focus their attention on the season's must-have open-toe python Tess pumps and satin Bean pouch.

Clockwise from top right: For the canopied entrance to the Judith Leiber flagship in New York, Gensler framed the custom laser-cut glass door in stainless steel and adorned it with a hollow acrylic-tube handle filled with Swarovski crystals. The use of European oak and rosewood veneer throughout unites the boutique's two levels. The Spring 2005 Whimsical pouch in ostrich feathers.

Clockwise from top right: Gensler stepped the ceiling to accommodate recessed lighting, one of the few major architectural changes to the landmark space. Lacquer display cases, trimmed in European oak, are side-lit with halogen lights; the kidskin-covered chair is an art deco reproduction. The 30-foot-wide Shimmerscreen curtain consists of 1,300 brass-ball chains. Drawers and cases employ magnetic lock systems instead of knobs for a cleaner line. Spring's hand-stitched Blythe sandals in kidskin suede.

CANOPY (ENTRY): CAPITOL AWNING COMPANY. CUSTOM STOREFRONT, DOOR, HANDLE: PORT RICHMOND GLASS. SIGNAGE: SIGNATURE INDUSTRIES. CUSTOM MILLWORK, DISPLAY CASES, DESKS (MAIN SALON, LOWER LEVEL): WILLIAM SOMERVILLE. CARPET: BLOOMSBURG CARPET INDUSTRIES. WALL TREATMENT: DFB SALES. CHAIRS: DAKOTA JACKSON. TABLE LAMPS: THROUGH WILLIAMS-SONOMA. CUSTOM CEILING FIXTURE (MAIN SALON): BALDINGER ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING. CUSTOM OTTOMAN (LOWER LEVEL): ZOGRAPHOS; SPINNEYBECK (UPHOLSTERY). SHIMMERSCREEN (LOWER LEVEL): BCM ARCHITECTURAL. LIGHTING CONSULTANT: HILLMANN DIBERNARDO ASSOCIATES. MEP: EDWARDS ZUCK. STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: ROBERT SILMAN ASSOCIATES. GENERAL CONTRACTOR: VANGUARD CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT CO.