Sophie’s
700 North Michigan Avenue
Chicago
Tel: 312-525-3400
Designer: Andre Kikoski Architect
Those who live, breathe, and eat fashion will be happy to hear Chicago’s newest luxury restaurant takes its cues from someone who left an indelible mark on 20th century design. Sophie Gimbel ran the Salon Moderne at Saks Fifth Avenue for 40 years until her death in 1981. Sophie’s, the new restaurant on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, pays homage to her legacy of midcentury elegance.
New York–based Andre Kikoski Architect employed vintage velvet, white silk, and gold leaf throughout the space, which looks out from the seventh floor of 700 North Michigan Avenue. The 100-seat restaurant adjoins a new men’s store, The Fifth Avenue Man, which offers glimpses of the kitchen through silhouetting linen glass.
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“Sophie Gimbel’s forward-looking artistry and technique inspires us,” Kikoski said in a statement. “We engaged her innovative sculptural forms, refined sense of material, and elegantly hand-crafted detail to create a sophisticated contemporary space.”
Digitally-engineered optical glass, a geometric carpet, and custom furnishings fill out the space, which is lit by Swarovski chandeliers that Kikoski commissioned. Their square forms recreate the warmth and glitz of traditional chandeliers. The dueling textures of the rippling glass and hard-edged geometries throughout the space create a dynamic that goes beyond aping mid-century modernism.