Follow the “mosaic river floor” in the landmarked Red Room of the new Printemps, with bespoke interiors by Elle Decor A-List designer Laura Gonzalez, and you’ll come to a bar so finely finished it would make Jay Gatsby reach for Louis XIV’s robes. The space is the opposite of quiet luxury: it’s deafening lavishness. Should you find yourself overwhelmed, a staircase to the right can transport you upstairs to a boudoir-inspired shopping area. But we have to warn you: You might not make it up. Not for lack of trying, nor because of any impediment to your mobility, but because the staircase itself, carved in red jasper and elegantly glowing, is a bit of a destination unto itself.
The staircase in Printemps’s Red Room Bar, designed by Laura Gonzalez.
That is, of course, by design. Gonzalez looked to the mirrored staircase from which Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel would perch to view her collections in her Rue Cambon apartment for inspiration. «I imagined this sweeping staircase as a sensual ribbon, gently cascading like a waterfall from the intimate boudoir down into the heart of the Red Room Bar,” Gonzalez tells ELLE Decor. “The curves embrace you, inviting a slow, cinematic descent. The interplay of textures whispers stories of Art Deco glamour, reimagined with a modern Parisian twist.”
The staircase in the New York City SoHo boutique of Jacquemus.
A staircase manages to capture the imagination, being deeply intimate yet flagrant, hinting at deeper knowledge just out of reach while simultaneously offering up said secrets on a silver (or marble) platter. In retail, a staircase acts as an “architectural focal point,” according to Gray Davis, co-founder of the firm Meyer Davis, which designs the Oscar de la Renta boutiques. The brand’s newest, on Madison Avenue, features a central staircase flanked by fluted alabaster walls that connects the store’s five salon shopping spaces. The staircase is both a concession to pragmatism, serving as a “wayfinding element,” per Davis, as well as an emotional touchpoint that creates a deeper bond between client and store concept. “The message is that this is a remarkable space for a remarkable collection.”
The interior of the Toteme store on Madison Avenue, designed with Halleroed.
Establishing a sense of place is imperative. The staircase-as-architectural-focal-point helps brands communicate their understanding of where they are as much as where they want to take you. In the case of designer Simon Porte-Jacquemus, whose namesake brand’s SoHo flagship features a Jacques Couëlle-inspired staircase, the steps are a “big, beautiful gesture” that tie the space to Porte-Jacquemus’s roots in the south of France.
The J.Crew store in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood.
For the sleek Swedish brand Toteme, founded in 2014 by Elin Kling and Karl Lindman, each store is an opportunity to “capture the essence” of the neighborhood. When the brand opened on New York City’s Upper East Side, the store’s lacquered-red spiral staircase was an instant hit. “A lipstick-red staircase felt like the perfect match for the area,” Lindman tells ELLE Decor. “It’s bold and playful, but also elegant and chic.” A similarly torquing staircase, outfitted in a signature blue taken straight from J.Crew collections, unites the womenswear and menswear floors at the brand’s SoHo flagship, designed by creative director Olympia Gayot with Lalire March Architects.
The Carolina Herrera store on Madison Avenue.
Perhaps the perfect union of form and function, the staircase-as-focal-point-cum-canvas gives literal runway to a brand’s trademark color or pattern. This was top of mind for designer Wes Gordon when renovating the Carolina Herrera flagship on Madison Avenue in 2019. “I see it as an invitation to our Herrera experience, with the soft pink of the Venetian plaster contrasted against Herrera red carpet,” Gordon tells ELLE Decor. “As you’re going up the staircase, there’s a building of anticipation for what you will find on the next floor. I like that dramatic sense of discovery.”
So what are you waiting for? Come on up.
Sean Santiago is ELLE Decor’s Deputy Editor, covering news, trends and talents in interior design, hospitality and travel, culture, and luxury shopping. Since starting his career at an interior design firm in 2011, he has gone on to cover the industry for Vogue, Architectural Digest, Sight Unseen, PIN-UP and Domino. He is the author of The Lonny Home (Weldon Owens, 2018), has produced scripted social content for brands including West Elm and Streeteasy, and is sometimes recognized on the street for his Instagram Reels series, #DanceToDecor
