For Tom Sachs, 2026 has been a busy year in NYC. He staged a takeover of Salon 94’s uptown gallery in the spring with an exhibition of furniture. It was an impressive multi-floor show of functional objects that overlapped NYCxDesign.
Opening during fall fashion week was 31 Rue Cambon aka the fake CHANEL store. Located adjacent to Tom’s studio on Centre Street in lower Manhattan, this is a plywood recreation of the iconic Paris CHANEL store and HQ of the French fashion house.
The experience starts with a que on the sidewalk. Many visitors won’t really pay attention to the window covered in sheets from a 90s Chinese newspaper(the storefront is a few blocks from Chinatown). Through a torn out section it’s possible to see the elaborate security monitoring setup that combines feeds from nearly a dozen controllable cameras. The sidewalk and all the interior spaces are watched and I think this is a clever commentary on ‘luxury’ status and value perception. There’s even a custom security sign on the entrance door.
The logistics of getting people in and out of the store were also carefully orchestrated. Only 8 people were allowed in at a time and a countdown clock and chime kept track of the 5 minute visit span and departure time.
Behind the blacked out entry door was a mirrored octagon room about 8 feet in diameter. Suspended in the center was a recreation of a chandelier from the 31 Rue Cambon CHANEL store made with bicycle reflectors and fishing lures.
One of the mirrored panels was a secret door to a hallway that leads to the main exhibition space. Made to look like a boutique, space displays handmade versions of famous CHANEL apparel and accessories. The 13 garments are plywood cutouts meticulously painted and decorated to look like their fabric originals.
A couple of recessed wall shelves housed shoes and handbags made from cardboard and a pair of plywood CHANEL sunglasses. Cases housed a collection of handmade brooches totaling around 50. These were all really ornate and I’m sure included some interesting source materials.
NYC is rife with a lot of bad popups, especially in the fashion category. This was a well timed exhibition by Sachs to ride that hype wave and also spotlight the absurdity of the luxury goods marketing machine.
Photos and Text: Dave Pinter
