Subway cars are not exactly known for their posh amenities—unless of course you consider copious subtle rat turds and free condoms an amenity—so even the most basic vestige of luxury can get us riled up with intrigue. Tiffany & Co. have constructed possibly the world's first First Class subway car—unfortunately, it's just for appearances sake.
AdWeek has a report about the car, which was built and installed inside the Dia:Chelesa gallery on West 22nd Street by firm Sid Lee. "Part of the strategy of the project was to create something special, scarce and rare," Daniel Chandler, co-executive creative director of Sid Lee, told AdWeek. "We knew if we did it for a short time, people would miss out—but missing out isn't such a bad thing. It creates desire."
And desire creates the illusion of need. Need is what drives people to take the subway to get to work. Work is how people make the money that enables them to buy Tiffany products. And eventually everybody becomes poop.
Anyway, the car was set up to serve as a showcase last week for the new Tiffany T collection, the inaugural jewelry ensemble by new design director Francesca Amfitheatrof. "We created something that was stylized and impressionistic, almost like a Wes Anderson set," Chandler added, although we did not see Tilda Swinton in there anywhere, so we are a little skeptical.
But alas, none of us will get the chance to investigate more closely for any signs of Swinton: the car is no longer at the gallery, and is likely moving to another city to give other people a taste of what a real life unusable NYC subway car built out out of lacquered plywood and scented with the faintest hint of Jason Schwartzman's musk is like.
