The latest openings from Dior, Stella McCartney, Hysek, Neiman Marcus and Panerai, in Taiwan, London, Shanghai, San Francisco and Singapore
The Latest Boutiques: Chanel, Tom Ford & Valentino
Over the last decade, collaborations between luxury brands and contemporary artists have gone beyond mere artistic partnerships towards a new kind of luxury branding.
PARIS – Art and fashion have always developed side by side, for fashion, like art, often gives visual expression to the cultural zeitgeist. During the 1920s, Salvador Dalí created dresses for Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiapparelli. In the 1930s, Ferragamo’s shoes commissioned designs for advertisements from Futurist painter Lucio Venna, while Gianni Versace commissioned works from artists such as Alighiero Boetti and Roy Lichtenstein for the launch of his collections. Yves Saint Laurent’s vast art collection, recently auctioned at Christie’s in Paris, testified to his great love of art and revealed the influence of a variety of artists on his own designs.
In the 1980s, relationships between luxury brands and artists were advanced when Alain Dominique Perrin created the Fondation Cartier. In the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, a book marking the foundation’s 20th anniversary, Perrin says he makes “a connection between all the different sorts of arts, and luxury goods are a kind of art. Luxury goods are handicrafts of art, applied art.”
The Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemparain building in Paris
The latest openings from Dior, Stella McCartney, Hysek, Neiman Marcus and Panerai, in Taiwan, London, Shanghai, San Francisco and Singapore
Dior has opened its largest store in the world in the towering Taipei 101, Taiwan
“Menswear” and “bespoke” luxury goods have widely been touted as the next big things, and just one quarter into 2012 luxury brands seem to have received the memo. Gucci has recently added its in-store tailoring service for men in 11 cities (Luxuo). Fratelli Rossetti have (literally) followed suit, unveiling its refurbished via Montenapoleone boutique with a made to measure service for men’s shoes and ladies’ handbags.
As Loewe opened doors on its largest store in the world in Barcelona, the brand took time to announce its first retail space dedicated to bespoke, where clients can devise their own made-to-measure clothing and bags. Tom Ford’s latest menswear boutique – a three-story boutique on Paris’s rue François 1er – offers the designers signature tailoring collections.
“ Men are becoming less shy about buying accessories such as bracelets and scarves ”
Reuters recently linked the phenomenon to "everything from the sharp 1960’s styles on shows such as “Mad Men” to the proliferation of fashion blogs," in igniting men’s interest in fashion and nicer clothes. “Those shows are having an influence on the way guys are dressing,” revealed Matthew Singer, men’s fashion director at Neiman Marcus Group. Men are also less shy about buying accessories such as bracelets and scarves, he said.
Hugo Boss AG – a business driven primarily by its sales from menswear – is targeting sales gains of 50 per cent to 3 billion euros by 2015. “Men are just waking up to the beauty of being dressed well,” remarked Hugo Boss CEO Claus-Dietrich Lahrs. “A cultural shift around the world that has led more men to be interested in fashion and invest in their appearance.”
10 Corso Como, Seoul
10 Corso Como has opened its second outpost in Seoul, within AvenueL, a luxury shopping complex in the Lotte department store. The 1,270sqm space occupies the entire fifth floor and features large luminous windows, colourful geometric drapes, a rose-petal mosaic wall design, and decorations in the store’s signature black-and-white dots.
Website: 10corsocomo.com
Source: WWD
Burberry, Doha, Taipei
Burberry has opened its first flagship in Taiwan, showcasing Burberry Beauty, Burberry Prorsum, Burberry London, Burberry Brit and Burberry Sport collections. The new flagship marks the 21st Burberry store on the island, and the biggest of its kind in the world.
Over in Doha, Qatar, the British heritage brand has launched its first Childrenswear store. The 220sqm store opened at the Villagio Mall Doha, Qatar.
Website: burberry.com
Source: Luxury Insider
Source: Luxury Opus
Chanel, Paris
Chanel recently launched its third Avenue Montaigne location, dedicated to ready-to-wear and accessories. Its long-standing space at No. 42 is now devoted to watches and fine jewellery. The 600sqm Peter Marino designed boutique heralds a new era of luxury for Chanel, where artworks by Olga de Amaral, Ingrid Donat, Peter Dayton and Johan Creten are offset by weighty curtains of silk, embroidered with dense patches of pearls or tiles of metallic leather.
Website: chanel.com
Architect: petermarinoarchitect.com
Source: WWD
Christian Louboutin, New Delhi
Christian Louboutin’s first Indian boutique opened this month at the Emporio mall in New Delhi. Its 51st store worldwide – currently stocking Louboutin’s Bollywood inspired range – was designed by New York-based design firm 212 Box. The store design features multi-coloured reclaimed tin from old New England buildings and a hand-blown Syrian teardrop glass chandelier. (Image, Christian Louboutin Dubai)
Website: christianlouboutin.com
Source: WWD
Damiani, Osaka
Italian luxury jewellery brand, Damiani, has opened its second Japanese boutique in Osaka. The 100sqm sore in the city’s Umeda area is the first Damiani flagship boutique in the Kansai district, on the first floor of the Hilton Plaza West. The project was devised and developed in-house by an all-Italian creative team, included furnishings that were designed and made in Italy.
Website: damiani.com
Source: Forbes
Dior, Taipei
Dior has opened its largest store in the world in the towering Taipei 101, Taiwan. The grand boutique houses three ready-to-wear salons, one devoted to cocktail wear and eveningwear, a shoe room, two levels of Dior Homme and a dedicated salon for DiorCouture. Designed by Peter Marino, the store’s interior space is inspired by the marriage of 18th-century aesthetics with modern details, filled with exclusive works by contemporary artists such as Terence Koh, Claude Lalanne and Véronique Rivemale.
Website: dior.com
Architect: petermarinoarchitect.com
Source: WWD
Fratelli Rossetti, Milan
Fratelli Rossetti has reopened its flagship boutique in Milan, on via Montenapoleone, following a €5 million renovation. With the occasion of the re-opening the boutique, the Italian accessories brand launched its Made to Measure Service, available for men’s shoes and ladies’ handbags, manufactured in Northern Italy.
Website: fratellirossetti.com
Source: CPP Luxury
Giorgio Armani, New York
Giorgio Armani has unveiled a newly renovated space on Madison Avenue, dedicated strictly to the main Giorgio Armani line. The store was designed by Giorgio Armani himself and his architectural team, spanning four floors across 1,950sqm. The new interior boasts modern and sleek design, fashionable décor and a redistribution of spaces to “greatly enhancing the store offering".
Website: armani.com
Source: NYTimes
HYSEK, Shanghai
HYSEK has launched its first Chinese boutique in Shanghai, located at the middle of the prestigious Huaihai Middle Road, one of most prosperous iconic shopping street in downtown Shanghai. The Chinese opening follows the brands first Asian boutique in Singapore, where the brand found that the majority of Hysek buyers there came from mainland China.
Website: hysek.com
Source: Jing Daily
Il Gufo, Rome
Luxury childrenswear brand Il Gufo has opened its first flagship store in an elegant historic building at Via del Babuino 65, in the heart of Rome. In addition to its stores in Turin, Cortina, Treviso and Pordenone, the new 35sqm space in Rome will house clothing, shoes and accessories for children and babies. Architects Filippo Caprioglio and Soldo from Studio Caprioglio Associati devised the store.
Website: ilgufo.it
Architect: Studio Caprioglio Associati
Source: Luxos
Jil Sander, Taichung
Jil Sander has opened within Fareast Topcity Mall n°105 on Chung Kang Road, Taichung, launching the brand’s latest retail concept. Two further Taiwan stores are slated to open in the coming weeks, in Taipei and Kaohsiung respectively. (Image, Jil Sander New York)
Website: jilsander.com
Source: Luxos
La Perla, Bucharest
Italian lingerie brand has opened a mono-brand boutique in the Romanian capital of Bucharest, on leading high-street Calea Victoriei. The 90sqm La Perla boutique will feature women’s ready to wear and lingerie collections and will be operated under a franchising agreement. (Image, La Perla Shanghai)
Website: laperla.com
Source: CPP Luxury
Loewe, Barcelona
Loewe has opened its largest store in the world in Barcelona, located in a historic building at 35 Paseo de Gracia. The 650sqm flagship features restored ceiling frescoes from 1906, copper sculptures by artist Hervé Wahlen and stone floors and walls. The boutique houses the full collection of ready-to-wear and accessories, as well as its first bespoke area.
Meissen, Milan
To coincide with Salone del Mobile, German luxury homewares brand Meissen has announced the opening of its very first international flagship showroom, Villa Meissen, in Milan. The boutique is located in the 16th Century Casa Carcassola-Grandi, one of city’s earliest and most historical homes.
Website: meissen.com
Source: CPP Luxury
Neiman Marcus, San Francisco
Neiman Marcus has opened its 42nd full-line store and its third in the San Francisco Bay Area, located in the East Bay suburb of Walnut Creek. The near-8000sqm space – described by the retailer as its latest “vision of modern luxury” – was designed by Niles Bolton Associates and features an exterior art installation by Ned Kahn, one of 30 Bay Area artists representing 133 of the 163 paintings, collages and sculptures in the store.
Website: neimanmarcus.com
Source: WWD
Panerai, Singapore
Panerai has taken up residence in Singapore’s prestigious ION Orchard mall, launching its biggest boutique in the world. The interior of the 120sqm space has been decorated in Gold Calacatta marble flooring and Venetian stucco wall finishing. A large wall clock adorns one side of the room, showcasing one of Panerai’s proudest inventions – the ‘sandwich dial’.
Website: panerai.com
Source: Luxury Insider
Pineider, Shanghai
Exclusive leather goods, hand-crafted papers and accessories maker Pineider has opened its flagship store in Shanghai, China, in partnership with local distributor Shanghai Kingmax. Pineider’s Shanghai store is housed inside the luxurious Yifeng Galleria, a century-old building set amidst the prestigious Waitan Yuan luxury hub that includes The Peninsula Hotel & Bund 33.
Website: pineider.com
Source: Luxos
Prada, Nagoya
Prada has set a new retail record, in opening 20 new directly operated boutiques in just two months, surpassing expansion rate by rival Louis Vuitton in 2007. Opening within the Matsuzakaya Mall in the city of Nagoya, Prada has become the fastest growing luxury brand in the world.
Website: prada.com
Source: CPP Luxury
Rodo, Milan
Located in Milan’s central Corso Matteotti – a stone’s throw away from Via Montenapoleone – Rodo has opened doors on a new flagship, featuring magnolia eco-leather padded walls, herringbone wood floors and a suspended crystal staircase. For the opening, Rodo redesigned a 1971 handbag to create 15 limited edition Milano bags in shiny kidskin and golden handles.
Stefano Ricci, Paris
Italian menswear house Stefano Ricci has inaugurated a flagship store on Paris’s Avenue George V. The 200sqm space is the first of several openings in 2012, will boutiques planned to launch in Geneva, Zurich, Vienna, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and St Petersburg, as well as an additional three locations in China.
Website: stefanoricci.it
Source: CPP Luxury
Stella McCartney, London
Stella McCartney has opened her second stand-alone London location in South Kensington’s Brompton Cross, with plans to launch the first Adidas by Stella McCartney store next door in May. The 365sqm boutique incorporates the first freestanding Stella McCartney Kids unit, with children’s fitting rooms and interior design featuring bold, primary colours with ball-shaped rubber details. The unit is powered by Ecotricity, the British green energy company.
Website: stellamccartney.com
Source: WWD
Tom Ford, Paris
Tom Ford has opened in Paris’s golden triangle, with a three-story boutique on rue François 1er. The 150sqm space offers men’s eyewear, fragrance, footwear, accessories, sportswear and tailoring collections. Features include grey marble flooring, macassar ebony wood fixtures and elegant sofas in grey flannel and white linen upholstery, conceived with long-time collaborator Bill Sofield.
Website: tomford.com
Source: Fashion Mag
Valentino, Milan
Valentino has unveiled its newly refurbished Milan store on Via Montenapoleone, the first to reflect the design aesthetics of creative directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli. Spanning just over 1000sqm, the Milan store has been redesigned as a Roman palazzo embellished with grey Venetian terrazzo with Carrara chippings, timber parquet, a stunning wood staircase, marble in black and white chessboard patterns and brass chandeliers.
Website: valentino.com
Architect: David Chipperfield
Source: WWD
Zenith, Shanghai, Wuhan
Zenith has opened two new locations in China, the first in Wuhan, capital of Hubie province in central China and the second in central Shanghai, on Nanjing Road. Both boutiques feature geometrical storefronts studded with glass panes and framed by two large stone columns, fitted inside with wedge wood and Chantilly porcelain. In both stores a private space has been developed to welcome VIP customers.
Website: zenith-watches.com
Source: Day & Night
Zegna, Rome
Ermenegildo Zegna has opened its newest Rome flagship, occupying an entire building at 58 Via dei Condotti. The new store, designed by in-house architects based on the global creative concept developed by architect Peter Marino, showcases the full spectrum of Ermenegildo Zegna collections across 300sqm. Monterubello luxury watches, and fragrances, are displayed within the store’s four floors.
Website: zegna.com
Source: CPP Luxury
For more in the series of The Latest Boutiques, please see our most recent editions as follows:
– The Latest Boutiques: Céline, Chaumet & Elie Saab
– The Latest Boutiques, Burberry, Bally & Boucheron
– The Latest Boutiques, Hublot, Pomellato & Fabergé
Creative Strategist, Digital
Sophie Doran is currently Senior Creative Strategist, Digital at Karla Otto. Prior to this role, she was the Paris-based editor-in-chief of Luxury Society. Prior to joining Luxury Society, Sophie completed her MBA in Melbourne, Australia, with a focus on luxury brand dynamics and leadership, whilst simultaneously working in management roles for several luxury retailers.