Wynn Esplanade - Las Vegas

Addicted To Retail (ATR) presents: the Wynn Esplanade and Encore Esplanade in Las Vegas, the retail promenades of Wynn Las Vegas.

There is a rule at Wynn that explains most of the design: the casino floor is never in view from the retail promenade, and the promenade is never in view from the gaming tables. Each is its own world, and the guest moves between them through a sequence of transitions, a flower-carpeted hall, a garden atrium, a parasol-covered bar, so that the change of mood is felt in the feet before it is seen. In an industry that has spent decades trying to blur the edge between gambling and shopping, Wynn drew the edge sharply and made the crossing the experience.

The Esplanade itself is a curved, top-lit promenade with a mosaic floor and a line of flagships that reads like Rodeo Drive with a roof: Louis Vuitton, Dior, Chanel, Cartier, Graff, Loro Piana, Brioni and Wynn's own boutiques. Every store front is a full-height glazed bay with its own lighting; Roger Thomas, Wynn's long-time design director, insisted on warm, dimmable, no-shadow lighting in the common areas so that the stores themselves look brighter by contrast. Encore's Esplanade next door is the same idea in red lacquer and butterfly motifs, with Hermès and the Chanel fine jewellery salon.

What makes it work

Two things. The first is the guest. Wynn's high-limit players are the richest shoppers in Las Vegas and the stores are a matter of a few hundred steps from the private salons, which is why Graff keeps a boutique here and nowhere else in Nevada. The second is restraint. There is no food court, no kiosks, no sale signage, nothing that would make the promenade read as a mall. It reads as a hotel corridor that happens to be lined with the best stores in the world, which is exactly what a resort guest wants it to be.

Notes for the trade

• Transitions are design opportunities. The walk from gaming to retail is sequenced like a show.
• Dim the street to brighten the shops. Common-area lighting is set two stops below the store fronts.
• Edit the tenant mix like a boutique. Fewer, better, and each one a flagship.

Wynn Esplanade, 3131 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas. Resort design: Roger Thomas / Wynn Design & Development.

Tags: Las Vegas, Wynn, Roger Thomas, casino retail, luxury