Baccarat New York doesn’t sparkle

Invoking the storied retail name only results in over-branding

From the August issue: Just opposite the Museum of Modern Art, a new hotel and condominium is set to rise over the site of the former (and future) Donnell Library. The project is to be called the Baccarat New York.

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Following the lead of the Bulgari hotel chain, it seeks to invoke a storied name from luxury retail — in this case, one that has been synonymous with elegant crystal products since before the French Revolution. But the building, judging from a recently released rendering, promises little beyond its name to suggest the beguiling brightness that we associate with crystal. [more]