2023-12-12 10:08:10
“That would be unthinkable at Bergdorf’s,” exclaims Glenn Pushelberg. A place for the young creative scene and the long-established moneyed nobility at the same time? Exuberant parties where Kreuzberg artists and Wilmersdorf widows have fun together? A luxury department store that also welcomes people who want to buy less and look more?
What applies to KaDeWe does not apply in any way to other houses of this size, says the interior designer from New York – and certainly not to Bergdorf Goodman on Fifth Avenue, the most famous department store in the world. Glenn Pushelberg, who with his partner George Yabu has just designed the new Moët & Chandon champagne bar on the sixth floor of the KaDeWe, is extremely enthusiastic about this place, “which works like a social magnet.”
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While other luxurious department stores – from Bergdorf’s in New York to Harrods in London to Nihombashi Mitsukoshi in Tokyo – are characterized primarily by their proverbial exclusivity and traditional elitism, a more democratic approach is noticeable in KaDeWe.
Just opened: The Moët bar was inaugurated a few days ago with a big party.Moët & Chandon
Let’s take a normal Tuesday: While downstairs on the ground floor, expert tour guides lead their astonished groups of tourists through the labyrinth of cosmetics counters, in the shoe department on the floor above, well-heeled Berlin women are having strappy sandals from Alaïa and Khaite packed into their shopping bags. Further back, in the men’s department, one customer chooses a reasonably priced shirt from Levi’s or Boss, while the next shells out a four-figure sum for a model from Rick Owens or Thom Browne. And on “the sixth”, the legendary grocery floor, department store guests can also choose between a wide range of offers.
In its own champagne bar, for example, KaDeWe hosts its “little champagne 1×2” on Tuesdays, which means filling two champagne flutes for the price of one; The small room around the bar is then packed, the atmosphere is exuberant, driving house music can be heard from the speakers. And if that’s too hustle and bustle for you, you can enjoy your bubbly at one of the other bars, like the one at Moët & Chandon, for example. “I think it’s fantastic,” says Glenn Pushelberg, the interior designer. “When I was in Berlin for the first time in the early 1990s and also in KaDeWe, I noticed that this house functions like a delicate social construct.”
With the bubbly there is a “Deconstructed Currywurst”
Pushelberg and his partner, who jointly run the renowned design studio Yabu Pushelberg in New York, also wanted to do justice to this special feature in terms of design. So the new Moët bar is staged as a versatile meeting place that extends from secretive seating areas, covered in red and black fabric, to the open, shiny gold bar area. “If you want to have a private conversation with a good glass, you can retreat a little further back,” describes George Yabu. “And those who want to see and be seen and perhaps also make new acquaintances sit at the front of the counter.”
The two designers describe that they wanted to design something less elitist and less pretentious in keeping with the location – both the department store and the city of Berlin itself. “We wanted to create a place where long-time residents feel just as comfortable as the younger generations,” says Yabu.
A place in the front row: Anyone who wants to see and be seen in KaDeWe sits at the counter. Moët & Chandon
On the back wall behind the counter, champagne novelties and vintage rarities are lined up; If you don’t just want to drink but also eat, you can choose between elegant delicacies such as a “Bouchon Précieux”, a brioche champagne cork with Comté Hollandaise, or new variations of solid snack classics such as the “Deconstructed Currywurst”. The new bar opened a few days ago – with a party that can only take place at KaDeWe.
The department store’s events are legendary; Not only representatives of West Berlin society have long been seen here, but also young creative people from all over the city. Tini Gräfin Rothkirch, the Hoppegarten grand dame, then celebrates alongside hip TikTok stars like Gazelle and Diehuepsche; The Chanel suit is worn just as naturally as the sweatpants.
You have to imagine the opening ceremony of the new Moët bar a few days ago in a similar way. Pushelberg and Nabu are still raving about an evening in which they talked to young artists and photographers, in which a male belly dancer performed, and in which DJ sets heated up the mood until late into the night. “Something like that,” says Pushelberg again, “would be unthinkable at Bergdorf’s.”
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