DATA SHEET
Interior design: Eric Carlson (Studio Carbondale)
Supplier: Friul Mosaic
Photo credits: Alessandra Chemollo
The entire Dolce&Gabbana store in Paris oozes imperial elegance: from the staircases with mosaic portraits to the materials used for floors and walls, the range of colors to the selection of furnishings. In the 800 square meters of the boutique on two levels we find the Ready to Wear, Accessories and Fine Jewellery collections for men and women, as well as the bespoke tailoring service. We are inside a 19th-century building with a restored facade, behind which the Uomo & Donna boutiques (at numbers 5 and 3) have been combined.
The protagonists of the space, besides the two handmade mosaics in glass and enamel (seven meters high) reproducing the portraits by Baron François Gérard and realized by Friul Mosaic, are the staircases. One connects the two levels of the women’s area, under the gaze of the elegant Joséphine de Beauharnais, while the other joins the first floor of the women’s boutique to the men’s area on the ground level, flanked by the figure of Napoleon. Both staircases are in Rouge de Roi marble, a color that goes nicely with the hues of the entire Baroque-flavored space. The floors of the boutique feature a diamond pattern of fine marble varieties like Fior di Pesco, Salomé and Sequoia Red, while the curved walls are clad in Fior di Bosco, Rosa Tea and Rosa Libeccio marble, with bands of shiny gilded brass. For the furnishings, Eric Carlson has concentrated on stylistic continuity for the two zones, choosing cylindrical pieces in glass, brass and briar to accompany the curved walls, creating boundaries between different retail areas. The display cases, tables and wall fixtures are in polished brass, briar and Rosa Libeccio marble, punctuated by settees in velvet and briar, and cabinets in Baroque style. The sole exception in the image is for the exclusive bespoke men’s tailoring service. Here the floors alternate a combination of Salomé and Rouge de Roi marble, while the walls feature panels in ebony, mango wood and briar, with horizontal bands of shiny gilded brass.
