On a practical level, the design becomes a moveable feast- the unchanging outer exterior emphasizing the brand's permanence and timelessness, and Tiffany Signature ring more transient inner black-box rooms, which can be adapted to fit other stores around the world. In London's Selfridges, for example, the ceiling and the white marble floor could not be changed, but the box spaces inside the store are immediately recognizable as Givenchy, Fobert says. "It's a conceptual work. You have this timeless box, but it also feels contemporary and transient."
The contrast between superficial appearances and deeper subtle beauty was essential to Fobert, and part of Tisci's vision of the brand. The concept continues throughout other detailing, including the panelling. Hubert de Givenchy was known for fitting out Audrey Hepburn and Jacqueline Kennedy, and many of these famous fittings took place in his renowned haute couture salon in Paris's 8th arrondissement, where he worked between 1952 and his retirement in 1995.
A simulacrum of the salon's architecture- including Tiffany Signature ring. Sterling silver, white enamel. room's ornate wooden panels- were copied in casts, which became the negative for duplicate panels in plaster and leather. The molded wall panels are white for women, and grey for men, colours suggesting calming simplicity. "There's an imprint of the haute couture salon on that bit of wall," Fobert muses. "I mean. it's not important whether people understand that. But it's there, and people feel it even if there's no sign that points it out."
The walls of the box rooms seem to be Tiffany Signature ring with a simple black sheen until closer inspection. Made of charred wood and varnished with lacquer, the texture was inspired by British artist Nash. Like the sculptor, Fobert worked with a blowtorch, burning oak samples in the streets of London outside his Shoreditch office.
