Cartier, one of the most esteemed houses in the global luxury industry, is now in a newly minted boutique in Manila, having reopened its new Philippine flagship at Greenbelt 3 in Makati City with a dramatic refresh from its previous location at Greenbelt 4 across the Greenbelt Park.
The boutique, 321 square meters in size, is a showcase of the wonders of Cartier, which has kept its core despite its phenomenal growth since its creation in Paris by Louis-François Cartier in 1847.
Other than its revered product range, from watchmaking and fine jewelry to accessories and fragrances, the new boutique showcases the French luxury brand’s intense affair with details and motifs, which it has turned over the years into timeless objects of beauty, whether in its collections or its store design or its other artistic explorations.
With over 200 boutiques around the world and what the house calls the “Cartier spirit,” marked by open-mindedness and curiosity, the eye that sees beauty in everything, the storied French brand has expanded its creative territory.
This design code is just as apparent as everywhere else Cartier is present in the world as in the Philippine flagship, designed as it is by Paris-based architecture firm and interior design agency Moinard Betaille, whose experience designing Cartier boutiques worldwide for over two decades has so immersed its architects and interior designers in the identity and heritage of the brand that allows them to embrace seemingly disparate cultural influences and quirks or to even shift the design vernacular without ever straying from the core of what Cartier is and has become since the beginning.
At Greenbelt 3, Filipino elements in no small measure seamlessly weave themselves into the store design, the way sweet nothings help speak of what matters in the space between two people in love.
The national flower sampaguita, a species of jasmine otherwise considered a humble flower that is sold in strings for a song at churchyards and streetcorners, finds profound expression at the Philippine flagship, in which it provides a refreshingly new setting for the panther, Cartier’s emblem.
In fact, it has its place of pride at the very opening of the interior space, in which in patchwork effect on a wall, it surrounds the big cat, a spirit animal—wild, untamable, elegant, powerful—which has reigned over Cartier’s creativity since it first made its appearance in the design studio in 1914. The panther is a symbol of great profundity, often associated with strong women, such as Jeanne Toussaint, nicknamed “The Panther,” who was Cartier’s director of fine jewelry from 1933 to 1970. But so is the sampaguita, a Spanish term strung from the Tagalog words sumpa and kita, a pledge of love.
The banig, a traditional mat handwoven from dried leaves, such as buri, pandan, or tikog, has also for decades been depicted in Philippine pop culture as humble or a throwback to simple times. At the Cartier boutique, it is recognized for what it is—a work of art—and uses it in intricate patterns and bright colors as a homage to Filipino craftmanship.
The riches of the Philippines are well-represented in Cartier’s new home at Greenbelt 3. The country’s strong basket-weaving tradition is honored in the textures of the boutique’s stone flooring while, as a nod to its archipelagic nature and its bountiful waters, seashell patterns adorn the columns and the ceilings while mother-of-pearl with straw marquetry, side by side with earth-toned fabrics, subtly summons up the image of tropical islands and abundant wildlife, especially with a handpainted De Gournay focus wall commissioned to achieve this desired effect.
In the VIP Lounge, a private alcove for clients, Philippine flora and fauna continue to enliven the atmosphere, with branches of leaves undulating in a patina of pinks and whites on a wall while another bespoke De Gournay of lush vegetations pays tribute to the country’s agricultural gems. The theme of local flora and fauna, as well as Philippine craft, particularly basketry, merges breathtakingly with a backdrop done in bas-relief with gold inserts by French plaster artist Del Boca in the bridal lounge.
Cartier’s new boutique at Greenbelt 3 is a love letter to the Filipinos as well as a love letter to the world, which is now, as it always has, beginning to see the true beauty of the Philippines.