When celebrities get a facelift, they keep it quiet. When Tiffany & Co. does, they throw the biggest party of the week. And so it was, one cool evening in New York City: mega-celebrities like Pharrell Williams, Hailey Bieber, Zoë Kravitz, Florence Pugh, Michael B. Jordan, Anitta, and the singularly named Jimin (of BTS) descended on Fifth Avenue to fete the legendary jeweler’s revamped original location, which is now known simply as “The Landmark.”
“This is actually very emotional for me,” said Alexandre Arnault, the 29-year-old luxury scion who serves as Tiffany & Co.’s executive vice president, noting that the diamond mothership hasn’t been remodeled since 1940. “We tried to keep the outside as true to what it was when the store was founded,” focusing instead on a total revamp of its 10 floors. Now, the location includes a private club; a series of video installations; a world-renowned art collection with works by Damien Hirst, Julian Schnabel, and Anna Weyant; and of course, a ton of glittering inventory.
A painting by Julian Schnabel at Tiffany & Co.’s The Landmark.
The new space designed by renowned architect Peter Marino also holds a jaw-dropping array of Tiffany & Co. icons, including the aqua Jean-Michel Basquiat painting featured in the brand’s 2021 ads with Beyoncé and Jay-Z, a new version of the legendary 128.54-carat Tiffany Diamond seen on Lady Gaga at the 2019 Oscars, and a replica of Audrey Hepburn’s little black dress from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, created by Hubert de Givenchy in 1961. (The original is still in the designer’s archive, though Paramount Pictures owns another. A third was auctioned by Christie’s in 2006 for about $860K—or 40 Elsa Peretti x Tiffany bone cuffs.) The couture copy is part of “The Audrey Experience,” which showcases floor-to-ceiling photos and outtakes from the film, along with a soundscape of Moon River recordings in all their jazzy, old-school splendor.
“I remember coming here for the first time when I was 18 years old,” said Gal Gadot, who slashed through The Landmark’s opening ribbon with Arnault and CEO Anthony Ledru while wearing eight (!) pieces from the brand, including a $71K diamond necklace from its ultra-modern HardWear range and the classic bean earrings beloved by Sweet Sixteen celebrants worldwide. “The first time I came here, I was 18 years old and with my best friend from Israel,” she added. “We were trying to walk on the cobblestones in heels by Central Park—not a great idea at the time!—and then I came all the way to Fifth Avenue to see if I could be like Audrey Hepburn. I idolized her, of course, and I thought, ‘Could I ever be in a movie like that, too? Can I find the same kind of magic here?’” Her breakout film, Wonder Woman, earned nearly $1 billion worldwide—so yeah, she’s probably got a shot.
Alexandre Arnault, Gal Gadot, and Anthony Ledru at the ribbon cutting ceremony on April 26, 2022.
For those of us still chasing the dream of wearing a tiara while noshing on a croissant, The Landmark has some encouraging news: They’ve not only replicated the window tableau where Hepburn endorses carbs, but they’ve also updated the Blue Box Café helmed by Daniel Boulud—framed by a few hundred Tiffany & Co. boxes dangling from the ceiling. It’s almost as if The Landmark is meant to compete with escapist social media-friendly outings like the immersive Van Gogh exhibit. If you’re interested in an actual museum experience, works by modern masters like Jeff Koons, Jenny Holzer, and Rashid Johnson are not-so-subtly scattered throughout the space, along with vintage lamps by Louis Comfort Tiffany himself.
“It’s not just a place to shop, you know?” Gadot said with a smile as she twisted one of the diamond T rings on her finger. “It’s really also a place to dream.”
Below, a look inside the new New York institution and its opening party.
