More than a store, it is a sanctuary of creativity and collective memory. This is where the Cartier story begins, an immense aesthetic vocabulary of inexhaustible inspiration. After a careful renovation, the mythical space in the Rue de la Paix in Paris is ready to embrace the future.
More than a store, it is a sanctuary of creativity and collective memory. This is where the Cartier story begins, an immense aesthetic vocabulary of inexhaustible inspiration. After a careful renovation, the mythical space in the Rue de la Paix in Paris is ready to embrace the future.
For about two and a half years, the emblematic number 13 of Rue de la Paix, a stone's throw from the equally iconic Place Vendôme, was covered with a huge tarpaulin that concealed the maneuvers taking place there: a wonderful cloth with the Cartier logo covered, in a trompe-l'oeil way, the construction equipment that, at full throttle, was working to allow the renovations of the space (although necessary), to be brief. After all, closing the doors of that store – the flagship, the first of all, the most symbolic -, had not been easy. But it was worth the wait. With a completely redesigned concept, the mythical 13 Paix was renovated on the outside, keeping its distinctive black marble, and inside, based on three key concepts: luminosity, verticality, and modernity. Over five floors, the public will find, in addition to the boutique, concierge services, High Jewelry ateliers and a cultural space.
“The new building does not belong to any period in time but respects them all. It does not favor any style but celebrates them all. It is a free and theatrical interpretation of Parisian codes, it offers a sublimated, poetic and timeless version of the capital, its rooftops, its perspectives and its secret treasures.” The words are those of Cyrille Vigneron, President and CEO of Cartier International, in the manifesto presenting this project. It is he, moreover, who best sums up the revolution (silent, subtle) operated in the building where, in 1899, Cartier took root. “This architectural vision is that of the entire Cartier style, one that finds its power in all eras and cultures in order to capture the beauty and universality of each.”
The history of this unique address, which began on the eve of the 20th century, is inseparable from the invention of modernity and its perpetual motion. It was here that, in 1899, Louis Cartier - who had just joined his father, Alfred - decided to give the family business a Parisian base. Number 13 in Rue de la Paix is both the birthplace and the matrix of all inspirations; it is the address from which everything begins, and to which one always eventually returns. A true home. This is also where Jeanne Toussaint, the "panther woman" and creative director of the maison for fifty years, had her office. Surrounded by books, she created at a dizzying speed, indifferent to the pace of time, which did not seem to keep up with her agility and sophistication. “I consider myself a pragmatic person, but magic exists”, she used to say. Walking through the corridors of the brand new 13 Paix, one can feel Toussaint's spirit. Because her spirit, like the Cartier spirit, is an eternal metamorphosis.
Translated from the original on "The Velvet Touch" issue of Vogue Portugal, published december 2022.Full stories and credits on the print issue.
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