Printemps New York opening celebration perfects the French-American aesthetic

Chairman Jean-Marc Bellaiche hosted the event, which welcomed NYC VIPs for a sneak peek ahead of Friday’s ribbon cutting.

Occupy Wall Street has taken on new meaning. Instead of an economic protest movement, it’s become a retail revolution. The eagerly anticipated opening of Printemps New York arrived as spring arrived, as a tribute to its French name, hosted by Jean-Marc Bellaiche, chairman of the department store group. 

With champagne flowing like fountains, a customized Printemps ice sculpture raw bar, and delectables by hotshot Haitian-American chef Grégory Gourdet, who was enlisted to oversee the space’s culinary offerings, guests perused the breathtaking space designed by French architect Laura Gonzales, who gave it a modern art nouveau feeling awash with color, texture, and pattern.

FashionNetwork.com caught up with Bellaiche as the evening kicked off before the executive commenced hosting duties, including introducing Noah Cyrus, who serenaded the crowd and personally escorted Parker Posey and Katie Holmes on tours.

First and foremost, Bellaiche noted that the key difference between the Paris flagship and the New York location is its culinary offerings. “It is different, and it’s the same. It’s different because the size is much smaller, but the focus on food is stronger. We have a robust food offering in Paris, but it’s so big. To have five restaurants in the small space is something else,” Bellaiche said (though at over 43,000 square feet over two levels, the space is by no means diminutive).

He also noted that the space lacks brand boutiques. These inhabit most luxury department stores lately, robbing the space of design POV. However, there is a dedicated Jacquemus salon for the opening. Also gone are the relegated aisles; thus, once arriving at the Broadway main entrance, the first floor is a series of open displays—such as terrazzo vitrines and podiums to display accessories and clothing racks that allow a meandering sense. It also houses three eateries, though access to all on the first floor isn’t fluid. The lobby of New York’s largest commercial-to-residency building conversion sits at the ground level. The journey feels even more intriguing as one goes up and down again on the opposite side to discover the whole environment.

“The flow of the consumer journey is completely free. There are no lanes when you enter the salon; we don’t tell you where to go,” Bellaiche continued.

“There are many similarities—the attention to aesthetics, the architecture. Paris is the most beautiful store; this one is even more beautiful, and there is a lot of tribute to Paris here. For example, we brought the fresco by Atelier Roma from France, which was inspired by Paris. Origami birds are flying in the window by artist Charles Kaisin, who we work with in Paris, too,” he noted.

The undertaking, which was announced over two years ago, was nothing less than a Herculean effort, judging by the design and culinary offerings alone.

“What is tough is that when you open a store in a new country, you open a country. So, you start from scratch with new systems. You form a business, too, a new enterprise or a warehouse; everything is new. That’s a challenge. The construction was also a big challenge, but overall, it went very smoothly,” he said. In a welcome speech later, Bellaiche called out Jeffrey Yachmetz of Dilmon LLC for the trouble-free build-out.

About two hours into the event, Bellaiche spoke to the crowd from a very art nouveau-inspired gazebo made from calla lily-sculpted supports. “You all need to know how to pronounce ‘Printemps’; there will be a test later,” the chairman said as he continued to school the crowd.

“We have been reinventing retail since 1865, and this store is no exception. In Paris, we were the first to use electricity and put an elevator in the store. Imagine coming to the store to experience the first time your body is lifted from the ground. We put a ski slope on the rooftop of Printemps Paris before. First, to showcase Karl Lagerfeld and Marc Jacobs behind our windows. We know what innovation means, and as a start-up of 160 years, we are proud of this,” he continued, uttering that the new store’s tagline is, ‘This is not a department store.’

“This is a French apartment in the heart of NY, where French curation meets American hospitality. In France, we know beauty and art, but we aren’t good at welcoming people; we are aloof and distant, so let’s take the best of American warmth, welcoming, and ‘hello, welcome to NY’ approach at Printemps New York, where shopping meets culture, art, experience and food.”

Similarly, both Paris and New York have landmark status. “It’s a tough market, and competition is crowded, but there are four reasons we can bring something to the NYC retail scene. One is architecture, such as the one we inherited: the Red Room made by muralist Hildreth Meière in 1931 [it was originally made for the Irving Trust Company and closed to the public after 9/11] and the architecture that we built with star architect Laura Gonzales,” he said.

“The second is a product you will all buy tomorrow when we officially open at 11 a.m. Twenty-five percent are new to New York City or hard to find. The third is restaurants, so I want to thank Grégory Gourdet, our executive chef, for participating in this adventure. The last differentiating factor is the programming. This story will be ever-changing. We’ll have conferences, talks, pop-ups, so stay tuned for more reason to come to Printemps,” he concluded.

The welcoming spirit was undoubtedly the staff of a mosaic of New Yorkers from all generations, each with impressive luxury CVs, who were polar opposites of early-Aughts snobbish retail associates—hello Jeffrey’s New York—epitomized in an SNL skit. These eager fashion experts were friendly and knowledgeable, and they even cut a fine rug to the DJ stylings of Francesca Keller, daughter of fashion editor Elissa Santisi, as the party raged past 11 p.m.

​According to Bellaiche, Printemps defied New York’s post-pandemic retail staffing shortages. “Well, first, people are proud to work for a gem like this store. This is an extra motivation. We train them on the storytelling this store is full of. We want salespeople to be strong storytellers who know the story of Jules and Augustine Jaluzot and Printemps,” Bellaiche explained.

Knowing the Printemps story also includes learning the history of One Wall Street, formerly a bank—the Irving Trust Company—and discovering the store’s pièce de résistance: the Red Room, which houses the motherlode of the store’s women’s shoes. (Though when it comes to merchandising chez Printemps New York, toss out previous notions, as you never really know where you will discover something—say, vintage Jean Paul Gaultier couture pieces. According to a salesperson, the couturier’s mariner stripe gown with feather train on display has already sold.)

While the store was amply yet sparsely stocked, CEO Americas Laura Lendrum promised more labels after the opening due to the typical merchandise ship dates in relation to the late March opening.

Though the store is beautifully designed, one ugly truth about New York’s multi-brand and department stores in recent years is their despicable non-payment to vendors. This practice, with terms as much as four months standard or, in the case of Saks, continued non-payment even after the Neiman Marcus Group acquisition, would probably not fly in France, where tighter regulations are in place for such matters.

“In this way, we will be more French,” Bellaiche assured.

Opening a retail experience of this scale in the current climate is not for the faint of heart. But Bellaiche is confident. He believes the third time is a charm for the beleaguered downtown redevelopment. Its plans were previously thwarted by 9/11, Hurricane Sandy, and, more recently, the pandemic, which saw residents paying five-figure rents flee the city.

Today, the area boasts Casa Cipriani, a performing arts center, fashion brands like Altuzarra, the cool crowd at WSA, and another architectural gem—the Beekman Hotel—along with good schools, green spaces, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Tin Building, however beleaguered it may be.

Wrapping up the conversation with Bellaiche, it was brought to his attention that 20 March was also International Francophonie Day, much to his surprise. What other French words would he like New Yorkers to learn? “How about ‘Bonjour’ and ‘J’taime,'” he suggested. The latter bon mot perfectly sums up Printemps New York.