Rose by another name
Plaza jazz club gets an Elle Decor rebranding
The Plaza Hotel’s Rose Club, where the likes of Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday and Liza Minelli once performed, will be trying on a new look and a new name — for the next four months, at least.
In an offbeat marketing project, Hearst’s monthly shelter magazine Elle Decor on Monday will unveil a revamp of the swanky jazz haunt as the Elle Decor Cafe — a venue that comes complete with a new line of furniture created by the magazine that goes on sale next spring.
The grand balcony space, which overlooks the Plaza’s lobby, is still popular with tourists and event planners, notes interior designer Sasha Bikoff, who got tapped by Elle Decor editor Whitney Robinson to oversee the pop-up project.
But the traditional, oldschool hotel interior, with its burgundy velvet damask, was “dark and a bit sad,” and the furnishings “weren’t in great shape,” she says.
Bikoff dubs the new look that will wrap the venue through the end of March “Marie Antoinette at Studio 54,” with white, gold and lavender to create high-’80s glam.
The vibe evokes an era when Donald Trump owned the iconic hotel and Ivana Trump ran it — before Trump took an $83 million hit on the Plaza in bankruptcy court. Now, it’s owned by the Qatar government’s Katara Hospitality.
Bikoff has filled the bar with Elle Decor-branded furniture that’s slated to go on sale next year at Wayfair and Macy’s. Available pieces include a La Pausa chair by Emir Polat for $399, a cozy accent chair for $599, a $199 bar stool, a $599 marble console and a $249 side table.
Those prices may sound low for patrons of the Rose Club, which still offers jazz on Wednesday nights with $45 flutes of champagne and $29 cocktails.
“It’s another opportunity to broaden our reach as a brand and offer consumers a piece of the experience who might not have the chance to visit our café at The Plaza,” an Elle Decor spokesperson says.
Other pieces come from Calligaris, Universal Furniture, The Rug Company, The Shade Store, Fabricut, and Vervain.
This is the Rose Club’s first redesign in decades, says George Cozonis, the Plaza’s managing director. The Plaza has had designers like Betsy Johnson create suites before, but this is different because the Rose Club is “a public venue and more accessible for guests to enjoy,” Cozonis said.
The Plaza plans to revamp all of its famous spaces, from the Oak Bar — where Cary Grant nursed a martini in “North By Northwest” — to the Palm Court. But the Plaza’s owner isn’t yet ready to reveal the plans, Cozonis said.
There are currently two
Elle Decor-branded cafes in China, two in Japan and one in Thailand. This is the first US location, and the first time that an Elle Decor cafe will feature furniture that is also for sale, said Eva Platini, director of licensing for Elle Decor Collections.
The new look will be showcased in the April edition of Elle Decor, a spokesman said.
The partnership may work because “the pop-up experience starts the conversation with the consumer,” says branding expert Jarrod Moses.