Harry Nuriev has a theory about nightclubs: “It’s all about dancing or looking at who is dancing,” he says. So when designing Silencio New York, the new stateside location of the famous Parisian lounge, he decided to make it an ode to midnight movement. Nearly every inch of Silencio is covered in an arresting crimson velvet—from the ceiling to the floors—like you’re stuck inside a stoplight that just turned red. There’s no art, no patterns, no distractions: when the room is full, the only break in this bold, all-encompassing monochrome comes from the colors and shapes of the people themselves.
Nuriev never considered another color. After being hired by Silencio founder Arnaud Frisch, the Crosby Studios founder began to research the original Sentier location. (Not that he needed to travel far to do so—it’s just around the corner from his apartment in the French capital.) Famously designed by director David Lynch and named after the fictional Club Silencio in his movie Mulholland Drive, Nuriev became fascinated with the auteur’s signature aesthetic: dark, erotic, and surreal. After watching Twin Peaks, he found inspiration in the eerie, curtained corridors of The Dark Lodge and the neon signs of The Roadhouse. “I follow his DNA and bridge it with modernity,” Nuriev says.
Indeed, while the room may be Lynchian in its origins, it is wholly Nuriev’s. Having collaborated with brands from Nike to Balenciaga, Nuriev is known for his vibrant, futuristic minimalism as well as his embrace of fashion materials. (The man’s made a couch out of Uggs and denim, after all.) That’s on full display here. Booths are built into alcoves that are hidden behind theater-esque curtains; pull one back, and you’ll find seating upholstered in gold reflective vinyl that looks plucked straight from a disco dress donned at Studio 54.
Which, coincidentally, was situated only a few blocks away from Silencio New York. Located on 57th Street and 8th Avenue, it’s in the heart of the urban grit of Gotham—which somehow only adds to its glamor—albeit neighborhoods away from the city’s current downtown hotspots. “We were interested in the history of the neighborhood,” Frisch says of their location near the city’s most legendary nightclub. “And we’ve always been interested in being a destination place.”
Meanwhile, mixologist Remy Savage has crafted a cocktail menu that feels like Marais meets Midtown: think Manhattan with a twist of Pernod, or an Upside-Down New York sour with orgeat. Drinks will be served to Silencio’s discerning clientele while a world-class DJ or performer plays on in the background. (Prince, Lana Del Rey, and Pharrell Williams are just some of the famous names that the Silencio outpost in Paris has brought on stage in the past.) “We’ve always had a strong link to the arts scene, the music scene,” Frisch adds.
Silencio will open in late February, but a lucky few may be passing through its velvet curtains even sooner—with New York Fashion Week kicking off this weekend, it’s already been booked for a number of private events.
