The Opening of Printemps: A New Beautiful Amenity to Our Neighborhood

Walk two blocks to the 1 train stop on Chambers; ride two stops on a downtown train to Rector; walk one block up and then one over—you’ve officially made the 15 minute commute from Stuy to Printemps, the newly opened Parisian department store on Wall Street. Printemps’s original location in France dates back to 1865 and is currently a leading Parisian department store. It’s located in France, Qatar, and now Stuyvesant’s very own backyard. Amidst glamour and style, Printemps makes one thing crystal clear: shopping is an experience that should be filled with beauty and wonder.

The building at 1 Wall Street is one of the city’s lesser-known Art Deco landmarks. Its architecture is from an era characterized by the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building; that alone makes the space worth a visit. Roughly half of the space Printemps occupies was originally constructed in 1929. The other portion dates to the mid-1960s and is stylized in a mid-century modern aesthetic.

In an era when America has grown indifferent to department stores, Printemps battles the tide by creating a shopping experience like no other in the city. Instead of sales racks and countless rows of merchandise, Printemps creates an atmosphere that begs to be experienced more like a museum than a retail space. Each room of the store feels like an art exhibit—flashing juicy colors, full textures, and smooth shapes on every surface. Most of us can’t quite afford their products, but the simple experience of walking through the space is worthwhile.

The entire store is curated, with only one or two of each item on display. This sparseness gives shopping there an exclusive, elevated vibe. Unlike most retail stores in New York, there is a set path to walk the space in one loop: one enters on Broadway and explores the ground level; maneuvers up the escalator to the first floor; meanders through those rooms; and then walks the stairs down to the second half of the first floor. Instead of prioritizing an open floor-plan to showcase the vastness of their space, Printemps creates a stream of traffic, compelling shoppers to walk through every single section of the store.  

The entrance to the store is hard to miss from the street: a huge expanse of windows showcases a vestibule of lit glass flowers, mint green walls, and glass bricks. By the entrance is the “Playroom,” a spacious area of beautiful coffee table books, limited edition Nike sneakers, and a Jacquemus booth selling tulips. Café Jalu occupies the left, under fabric fashioned in the likeness of a green circus tent’s interior. Here, Printemps has displayed rows of fashion and architecture magazines, encouraging visitors to flip through them while nibbling on spiced banana cake and sipping lattes.

 A key detail that truly stands out in the Playroom is the usage of high-end materials in modern fashions. The rainbow polka dots on the floor are all marble; the playful, Alice in Wonderland-esque flowers are Murano glass; and the carpets are infinitely plush and full. The effect is a strong reminder that fancy can be fun in an environment where creativity runs wild. 

Up the escalators, the ambiance takes a dramatic shift. The store is no longer one of neon colors and geometric shapes. Instead, parquet floors, dark wood paneling, gold accents, and a hand-painted mural that wraps around the space engulf the room. Velvet couches are plentiful, with shoppers resting on them all around the room. The vibe is warm and relaxed yet effortlessly urban. The nearby Salon Vert serves martinis and oysters to chatting friends getting comfortable in front of a patterned-tile wall. One of the most stunning features of this room is the birdcage-like structure showcasing Isabel Marant dresses between bars of wrought iron calla lilies. Further into the room, a salmon-pink corner is illuminated by bubblegum-pink chandeliers resembling huge hyacinths. 

While going from the ‘60s part of the building into the historic Art Deco part, shoppers drift past green-tiled alcoves with fragrance and through a stark white hallway of skincare. Here is another area that exhibits subtle differences from its American department store counterparts—instead of overwhelming, cramped displays, Printemps is strands of little tables with clusters of products in a row. The subtle difference slows down shoppers’ paces and allows them to peruse leisurely and curiously at every station. Around the corner, a small area for cosmetics is lined by curtained-off quarters with massage chairs. Printemps leans into the concept of “pampering yourself,” offering a variety of wellness treatments in-store. Participants wait with champagne for their appointments at a miniature bar next to what looks like coral. 

The “Boudoir” of evening gowns and designer suits resembles the Met’s Costume Institute with mounted mannequins, spectacular ensembles, and hefty pricetags. The merchandise feels too good to touch, as if alarms will go off if one gets too close.

Down a pink marble staircase is the final dining institution—the Red Room Bar. It has frosty mirrors, low chandeliers, and even lower lighting. The adjacent room is where Printemps showcases their shoes—though its beauty means few visitors examine the footwear. This room was the building’s original lobby and is now home to beautiful mosaic walls from top to bottom. Starting at waist-height in scarlet red, the tiles’ colors ombre up the fantastically high ceilings to an egg yolk hue at the very top. The platforms holding heels and loafers also sprout massive white metal poppies, reaching some 20 feet before bowing down like real vegetation arching under its own weight. 

“I don’t think this project could have been designed anywhere else because New York is very special,” says designer Laura Gonzales. “Here, there are no boundaries.” The store did a fantastic job of aesthetically linking Wall Street’s commanding suit-and-tie energy with the delicacy and dazzle of Parisian style. A majority of its merchandise is from French designers, and around 25 percent of their inventory is only available at Printemps. The store plans to expand their space into other rooms of the building. Its proximity to our school is nothing short of a privilege for a Stuyvesant student, who needs only their OMNY card to visit a free institution of beauty. Being inside Printemps is akin to pawing around some exquisite jewelry box—every turn a new breathtaking expression of color, texture, and shape.