First Look: RH makes dazzling debut on Champs-Élysée in Paris
RH has outdone itself — again.
The luxury furniture and design services retailer has opened a seven-story, 42,000-sq-ft. gallery on Paris’ storied Champs-Élysées, in a space that was formerly occuped by an Abercrombie & Fitch flagship but had been vacant for five years. Described as a celebration of architecture, design, food and wine, RH Paris is both an immersive — and visually stunning — retail and fine dining experience.
To enter the location, visitors pass through a restored iron gate accented with intricate gold leaf motifs and go down a hedge-lined limestone path that takes them to a “secret” garden where ivy-covered walls and sculpted trees frame the six-meter cast medallion bronze doors marking the official entrance. The garden is home to RH outdoor and lounge furniture.
Juxtaposing the entry is a curved steel and glass structure that houses the freestanding RH Interior Design Studio. A contemporary inlaid brass and white onyx mosaic covers the walls and frames a three-dimensional image of Leonardo da Vinci's famous Vitruvian Man, which is featured in many existing RH locations and represents the brand’s “design ethos.”
Entering the gallery, visitors pass through the Architecture and Design Bibliotheca, a library that features rare and contemporary books by cultural and architecture masters.
The main retail space is connected by a soaring atrium of floating cast medallion stairs and a glass elevator that appears, then disappears from an invisible shaft atop the rooftop garden. In the center is a cast bronze caryatid, circa 1870, attributed to French sculptor Louis-Félix Chabaud, who is renowned for his sculptures at the Louvre and the Palais Garnier opera house.
The ground and lower level galleries feature “artistic” installations of furniture, artifacts, antiques and art in a gallery setting. Each floor is dedicated to a different artist, each of whom has created a collection of bespoke works meant to complement the furniture on display.
A restaurant, Le Jardin RH, is located on the second floor terrace where customers can dine under a curved glass and steel structure inspired by the Grand Palais. From the bar to the rest rooms, every surface is clad in rare white onyx slabs.
Other dining spots include Le Petite RH, where customers sit surrounded by champagne lacquered walls with a sparkling ceiling of over 7,000 individually handblown glass polyhedrons. (A polyhedron is a 3D solid figure with flat polygonal faces, straight edges and sharp corners.) A garden rooftop restaurant boasts views of the Eiffel Tower, Grand Palais and the Louvre.
In The World of RH Bar & Lounge, patrons can view architectural drawings and photography of RH Galleries around the world, as well as video installations showcasing the latest RH events, including new products, places and services.
RH chairman and CEO Gary Friedman described the gallery in a video letter to Paris, which can be viewed here.
“In Paris, the measure is eternity,” he wrote. “This we know, and have built accordingly.”
