Armani Bringing Luxury Condos to Madison Avenue

And now for something completely new: a chance to shop where you live. Or is it a chance to live where  you shop? Or is it a chance to live next door to the person whose goods you’re shopping for? 

Actually, it’s all of the above. The Italian fashion mogul Giorgio Armani has announced plans to replace his low-rise boutique at 760 Madison Avenue with a new flagship that will be topped with 19 new luxury condo apartments, the New York Times reports. Armani, 84, plans to live in the building, which reflects the trend of wealthy shoppers who are no longer satisfied with buying overpriced handbags and gowns – and instead are demanding “experiences.” Global spending on the so-called “experience economy,” which is being driven primarily by millennial consumers, is expected to reach $8.2 trillion by 2028, according to the market research firm Euromonitor. 

The Armani project on Madison Avenue is being done in partnership with SL Green, New York’s largest commercial property owner and the owner of 760 Madison Avenue. Prices for the 19 condos have not been announced. 

“Through interior design projects I can transform my vision into a total experience, into something enveloping and every-day for clients,” Armani says. “They are an important vehicle for my business because ultimately they can lead to purchases through greater awareness of lifestyle.” 

The Armani announcement comes six weeks after LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world’s largest luxury group, said it would buy Belmond, owner of such storied properties as the Hotel Cipriani in Venice, Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro and the Orient Express rail service. The deal, valued at $2.6 billion, further underscores the growing importance that opulent experiences are expected to play in what traditionally has been a product-driven market. It was probably inevitable that New York City real estate would become a component of those “opulent experiences.”