French store `true’ to Australia

Paris-based jeweller Cartier’s new Sydney outpost promises to be the ultimate lure for luxury shoppers keen to return to physical stores.

Digital artwork created for the building’s exterior by Melbourne artist Paul Milinski

If there were any doubts about the willingness of luxury shoppers to return to physical stores post-pandemic, no one told Cartier. The Paris-based jeweller is planning a major stand-alone flagship on the corner of George and King Streets in the Sydney CBD.

When the store opens next spring, it will have 783 sq m of selling space over two floors of a newly built glass and sandstone structure that is situated at the base of what was once known as the American Express Tower. Designed by the renowned architect John Andrews in 1971, it was recently revamped by FJMT architects.

The redeveloped corner site signifies the strengthening of George Street as one of the main luxury precincts in Australia. Louis Vuitton and Apple occupy two of the other corners of the intersection. Further down King Street is Tiffany & Co’s Sydney flagship, and in between the two major jewellery houses are boutiques for watch brands Hublot, Panerai, IWC and Jaeger-LeCoultre.

Digital artwork created for the building’s exterior by Melbourne artist Paul Milinski

The store has been designed by the Paris-based interiors firm Moinard Bétaille and its décor will reflect Cartier’s corporate aesthetic codes, but at the same time have a very Australian flavour. “This will be our Oceania flagship and it will be very true to what Australia is today,” says Alban du Mesnil, managing director of Cartier Australia. “We have taken a lot of inspiration from Australian flora, and we have been working with Australian artists and designers. We are sourcing most of the materials in Australia, including the furniture.”

The opening of the store might be 12 months away, but Cartier is hoping the distinctive construction hoarding for the site will add some excitement to the CBD and help lure customers back to the city’s main shopping precincts, which have been deserted due to the second Sydney lockdown.

The company commissioned Melbourne-based artist Paul Milinski to design a series of four artworks that will change every few months in the lead-up to the store’s opening. Milinski’s work specialises in 3D and digital technology to create surreal environments and escapist utopias.

“We saw Paul’s art a year ago, and we really loved his unique style and 3D art and his fusion between landscape and architectural elements to build dreamscapes,” says du Mesnil. “His work really creates a harmony between nature and civilisation.”

Milinksi says this project for Cartier is his most significant commission to date and that the scale of it presented some particular challenges. The canvas he had to work with – the boutique’s façade – is 60m wide and 10m high, which he says meant that it was too wide to fit on a computer screen and the file sizes stretched the limits of his computer programs. “The resolution was also a significant consideration as the artworks are at ground level, so it had to be high quality,” he says.

Artist’s impression of the new Cartier store’s George Street facade

“What is exciting about working at this scale is the opportunity to create something super visible, and the idea that I can bring art to Sydneysiders’ everyday life, especially coming out of lockdown. I hope it is a breath of fresh air.”

The changing artworks will be a journey through four distinctive Australian landscapes, culminating in a Sydney-scape to herald the opening of the store. “I wanted to take the viewer on a journey both horizontally and inwardly. My approach is rooted in the beauty of nature, so it felt right that I would create something that is true to my aesthetic, using this extraordinary blank canvas to immerse the viewer in a 3D dreamscape.”

Digital innovation won’t end when the artwork comes down and the store opens. Cartier is convinced shoppers will return to physical stores while its ecommerce will continue to flourish. According to du Mesnil, one of the retail trends that Covid has accelerated is the digitalisation of shopping, and while that is projected to continue to grow, it will be part of “an integrated experience”. To that end, the new boutique will have a digital studio with professional video equipment to run private virtual showings for remote clients.

“Australia on the whole has been extraordinarily resilient and it [the pandemic] has been an opportunity for us to refocus on our local clients,” says du Mesnil. “We are very ambitious in Australia, and we believe the market is still growing.”