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CHANEL NO. 6 The French label's Back Bay boutique gets a chic —and expansive—new home on Newbury Street. FROM TOP: Plexiglass evening bag and twotone pump from Chanel's Cruise Collection. 144 available space was finite. So when the opportunity came up with the developer across the street, in an equally brilliant location, we jumped at it." Architect Peter Marino, Chanel's go-to designer for its retail spaces, has crafted an expansive two-floor boutique that seamlessly blends into the six-story building, Cirkva says. "If you look at the façade, it has a bit of the appearance that Chanel occupies the entire building," she notes. "Obviously the Back Bay is extremely involved in making sure everything that happens on Newbury Street is in keeping with what Boston represents. We normally use limestone or marble or glass, something shiny and white, for our boutique façades, but in this case Peter opted for cream and a combination of brick and limestone. It's still very Chanel, but it feels right for Boston." Inside, Marino designed a series of rooms meant to evoke a townhouse feel, featuring custom carpets unique to each space. "Each room has its own personality and is meant to feel somewhat residential, with a link to Coco Chanel's apartment and how important that was to her," Cirkva notes—though on the second floor of the boutique you'll find another nod to its Boston surroundings, with wood floors and area rugs, "something we typically never do," she adds. As in other Chanel boutiques around the globe, Marino also has commissioned a variety of art installations for the store, including one that occupies the two-story staircase by sculptor Jean-Michel Othoniel, whose work will also be seen in a mid-career retrospective at the Museum of Fine Arts this spring. "The piece invokes Coco Chanel's use of pearls, but in really magical colors," Cirkva says. "What Peter excels at is pinpointing those artists who can take the codes of Chanel and interpret them in very modern, innovative ways, and Jean-Michel's work is a great example FROM TOP: The boutique's exterior maintains Chanel's visual language while harmonizing with the Back Bay's architecture. Each room has a distinct look and feel. of that. It truly is the wow moment for me in this particular space." With the ability to expand and offer the full breadth of the Chanel universe for the first time in Boston, Cirkva foresees the new location as one that could quickly emerge as one of the brand's best. "Boston has become such an interesting market for us," she says. "It's a great mix of a very loyal local clientele with a whole international element because of all the surrounding universities and institutions. It's been so high among our priorities to be able to offer something that felt right in this very culturally rich environment. I see this as a great new home for us." 6 Newbury St., 617-8590055; chanel.com PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF CHANEL ON DECEMBER 3RD, THE FRENCH LABEL OPENS its newest boutique at 6 Newbury Street, a two-story space located just across the street from its previous digs in the lobby of the Taj hotel. At 10,000 square feet, five times the size of its predecessor, the new boutique also ranks as one of Chanel's largest outposts in the US. The project has long topped the label's wish list, says Barbara Cirkva, president of Chanel's fashion, watches, and fine jewelry division. "We'd been searching for a larger space for years," she says. "The boutique in the Taj hotel was a wonderful location in an iconic building, but we were hampered by the amount of space they could give us. It's a hotel, so the BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM 140-145_BC_F_Fashion_Holiday_13.indd 144 11/1/13 4:46 PM