Photo: Le Labo
With the gobal economy slowly inching its way toward a state of non-emergency, big brands are rolling out creative, think-outside-the-box tricks like never before. And in the world of hospitality, none more so than Starwood's Le Meridien hotel group.
For starters, consider their newly implemented LM100, a collective of visionaries representing the worlds of art, music, film and beyond, and curated by the leading art world luminary Jérome Sans (the founder of the illustrious Palais de Tokyo in Paris). They haven't stopped with art and space — they've invited masters of coffee (Andrea Illy, of Illy Coffee), food (Jean-Georges Vongerichten) and even perfume (Fabrice Penot and Eddie Roschi, of Le Labo) to contribute to their final product.
Le Labo was asked to create Le Meridien's signature scent which is inspired by the smell of old books, in particular Penot's grandfather's library which contained his favorite book, The Little Prince. "It was pretty easy, actually," Penot proclaimed. "When you read a book or enter a library, you have the feeling of comfort. It's a place where your mind can go away. [When you stay at a hotel] you want to feel at home, you want to feel safe, but you also want to feel like you are away." The scent, LM01™, is the first thing one notices when you walk into any of their 120 hotels.
We met with Eva Ziegler, Starwood's Global Brand Leader for Le Meridien in the lobby of their newest outpost in Philadelphia. (The typical LM lobby, by the way, is never typical. According to Ziegler, each one's a "creative hub" featuring contemporary art and video installations by the likes of Marcus Kreiss. There are even sound installations by musician Henri Scars Struck in the elevators). According to Ziegler, Le Meridien's no stranger to the world of art. "Born in Paris with a strong intellectual, artistic background, our audience has always been creative minded," she explained before mentiniong A New Perspective series, which will incorporate the local community as well as LM's guests in a global conversation on culture. For instance, Le Meridien's Philly hotel has recently sponsored a series of events with the Philadelphia Museum of Art in celebrating the museum's sprawling exhibition of the Italian conceptual artist Michelangelo Pistoletto.
In fact, the lobby of LM Philadelphia was recently opened up for a public Q&A between Pistoletto and Carlos Bach, Illy's in-house curator. Tossing the idea of pretentious exclusivity aside, LM's lobbies are an open forum, ripe with creative energy from the local community, guests, and major players in the worlds of art and music. So even if you aren't staying in one on your next vacation, it's worth popping in.
