I visited the Chanel store in SoHo the day after Karl Lagerfeld died, and it was clear why the brand has been an icon for nearly 100 years
Chanel has a variety of boutique locations scattered across Manhattan. I recently visited the SoHo store, which is in the heart of SoHo's shopping district and is surrounded by other luxury brands ...
... including Tiffany & Co ...
... and Balmain.
The store itself sits at the corner of Spring Street and Wooster Street.
From the street, window-shoppers can spy brightly lit displays even from across the road.
I visited the store at 11:30am on a Wednesday, about half an hour after it opened. Notably, this was one day after Lagerfeld’s death, so I was interested to see if the store would have set up any kind of tribute or homage to its late creative director.
Upon entering the small store, I was greeted by smartly styled mannequins and a display of luxury sunglasses ...
... along with a Chanel makeup counter. When I walked in, I was one of only a few people in the store, but by the time I left, several more groups had also filtered through.
Products on the makeup counter ranged from foundation to mascara, along with Chanel perfume.
Source: Chanel
On the opposite side of the store, a counter featured a line of stools where customers can sit while employees assist them with their purchase.
Shelves behind the counter grouped bags by color, a theme repeated elsewhere throughout the store.
Glass displays included carefully curated items in small, neat groups ...
... and always included a mix of pieces, ranging from sunglasses to wallets.
Wall displays proved just as artful, such as a perfectly manicured wall of red and pink inventory.
A fully accessorized group of mannequins marked the entryway to the back part of the store ...
... where the clothing racks were distinctly minimally filled. Many of them included only one or two pieces, all of which were color-coordinated to fit a theme. Clothing racks lined the edge of the lounge area.
A plush black couch had a Chanel bag propped on it, along with a Cruise Collection look book ...
... with photos by the late Karl Lagerfeld.
Unlike the website, which features a black and white portrait in honor of Lagerfeld ...
... the store did not have anything that struck me as a direct homage to the creative director, one day after his death.
Business Insider reached out to Chanel for comment regarding the store's lack of tribute for Lagerfeld but did not hear back by time of publication.
Every single item was perfectly arranged ...
... and mirrors were often used to lengthen clothing displays.
Some styles were obvious nods to classic pieces worn by people such as Jackie Kennedy ...
Source: CNN
... where other styles were more modern, such as these sneakers with the Chanel logo splashed prominently on the back.
Overall, the store was dominated by simple lines and a monochromatic color scheme. Lights illuminated both sunglass displays ...
... and shoe displays ...
... while wire-wrapped lights added a modern look above the store's fine jewelry display.
Costume jewelry was found on the opposite side of the store near the sunglass display, once again adding to style diversity — but not in overwhelming quantity.
After visiting the SoHo store, Chanel's status as a classic icon seemed solidified for me. The store's clean lines and simple, primarily monochromatic themes — with bursts of color here and there — definitely had a timeless appeal ...
... much like the brand's purses, shoes, and coats ...
... and its famous, late creative director himself, Karl Lagerfeld.
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