Don’t be surprised if you step inside the new Montblanc pop-up store in Beverly Hills and feel like you’ve entered a Wes Anderson film set in a remote mountain chalet.
The Wes Anderson vibe is intentional. The quirky Hollywood director and writer was tapped to help Montblanc celebrate the 100th anniversary of its Meisterstück, the iconic all-black lacquered fountain pen synonymous with luxury and elegant writing styles.
For the marketing campaign, Anderson put together a three-minute film that takes viewers into the world of Montblanc. And that campaign’s style has seeped into the interior design of the pop-up that opens Saturday at 459 North Rodeo Drive and remains open until July 31.
“Wes Anderson is giving us a very different, never-seen-before look,” said Sylvain Costof, Montblanc Americas president. “This pop-up transports customers far from the sunny streets of L.A. to snowy alpine peaks, encouraging them to physically experience a piece of this extraordinary universe, as if they were characters in their own Montblanc story. The experience is about discovering the attributes that make Montblanc so special among luxury brands.”
The never-seen-before-look could be a scene out of Anderson’s 2014 film “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” set in a fictional mountain village somewhere in 20th-century Eastern Europe.
In the center of the temporary boutique is a 10-foot-high image of the famous snowclad Mont Blanc on the French-Italian border. In front of the image is an exquisitely designed wooden desk where an overalls-clad mannequin, resembling a cable car conductor, sits with an array of Montblanc pens and paper ready to scribble a word or two.
Olive green carpeting surrounded by wooden walls lined with faux books lend a library effect that goes well with the world of writing. At the front of the boutique is a display called The Origin Collection, pens recreated from Montblanc’s archives for the 100th anniversary. “We have really dug into the DNA of the brand and resurrected many ideas from the past that are now inspiring what you see in this collection,” said Andrea Fodera, Montblanc’s communications director.
The pens, priced from $615 to $2,765, have the original Meisterstück logo on the cap and commemorate the centenary with the years 1924 and 2024 engraved on the band and the pen’s nib. Also predominantly displayed around the walls is an array of leather goods that are a growing category for the company based in Hamburg, Germany. Montblanc is part of the Richemont Group, a Swiss luxury venture whose other brands include Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Chloé, Piaget and Dunhill.
Toward the back of the store, Martin Herde, the brand heritage manager at Montblanc, is seated at a large table with some clients explaining archival pieces and showing a deconstructed Meisterstück pen to emphasize its craftsmanship. This area, during the store’s three-month tenure, will host several workshops about calligraphy and journaling as well as a speaker series and cocktail-making lessons.
Classes and education are just one way that Montblanc builds interest in a product that competes with computers and smartphones. The venerated luxury brand keeps the spark alive by holding periodic digital calligraphy classes taught by expert calligraphers and artists. “It’s a very engaged community,” Fodera said. “It was quite a surprise during COVID[-19] when we would be doing these digital classes and 500 people would show up. So, we have continued to grow that….I see an uptick in the way we are touching the younger demographic.”
Montblanc also has an extensive leather collection, which is on full display at the pop-up. For the 100th anniversary, the company unveiled two leather capsule collections. One features an outline of Mont Blanc embossed on items such as leather shopping bags, wallets, card holders and coin cases. A second capsule introduces a coral shade from Montblanc’s archives with black adorning the outside, which is found on wallets and card holders.
These capsules join the vast array of purses, backpacks, luggage, briefcases, slingbags, belts and other items that make up the leather collection, which is a fast growing sector in the company. Montblanc also markets fragrances, timepieces, sunglasses and other accessories.
