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The Latest Boutiques: BMW, Brioni & Bottega Veneta
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The Latest openings from Rolls Royce, Alexander Wang, Tag Heuer, Louis Vuitton and Cartier, in Long Island, Beijing, Mumbai, Taipei and Abu Dhabi Alexander Wang has opened its largest flagship…
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 Rolls Royce, Alexander Wang, Tag Heuer, Louis Vuitton and Cartier, in Long Island, Beijing, Mumbai, Taipei and Abu Dhabi
Alexander Wang has opened its largest flagship store in Beijing, China
Many a recent wealth report, annual report and luxury insight has highlighted the continued importance of established markets, despite the popularity and buzz surrounding BRICs. And as luxury brands continue to prepare themselves for global domination, we are noticing a shift from openings in Mumbai, Beijing and Shanghai, to cities as diverse as Kiev, Paris, Bucharest, Taipei, New York, Budapest and Casablanca.
Hugo Boss & BMW have both launched new design concepts for their Parisian flagships, the former on the famed Champs-Élysées, the latter just tucked behind on Avenue Georges V. Balenciaga has launched a rather astonishing flagship on Rue Saint-Honoré, marking the brand’s 60th directly owned retail store, with plans for seven more locations by year’s end.
Acne, New York
Acne has opened in New York, at 33 Greene Street, in a space envisioned by creative director Jonny Johansson. On designing the space, he remarked "I was inspired by the Gustavian period of Swedish design, its cleanness and purity, and I wanted to re-interpret that in a modern way. Black and white block-striped tiles frame an island of green carpet, and a blue horizon glass panel is reminiscent of the colours of the Swedish archipelago.”
Website & Source: acnestudios.com
Alexander Wang, Beijing
Alexander Wang has opened its largest flagship store in the heart of Beijing. The multi-floor, 500sqm space has been designed Paris architect Joseph Dirand in collaboration with Wang himself. Filled with marble, blackened bronze and customised vintage furniture fixtures, the store features the full collection of menswear, womenswear and accessories.
Website: alexanderwang.com
Source: Hypebeast
adidas by Stella McCartney, London
The first adidas by Stella McCartney standalone store has opened in London on Fulham Road, with interiors designed by architects APA. The 75sqm, two-level store will carry the label’s performance line of yoga and tennis outfits, fashion-forward running ensembles, swimwear, gym bags, and outerwear, alongside replicas of the McCartney-designed Olympic uniforms for Team Great Britain.
Website: adidas.ca/stella
Source: Dezeen
Audi, Bhopal
Audi has opened in Bhopal, central India, in a space spanning 260sqm, with an interior display area that can accommodate 3 Audi cars. the newly established boutique outlet concept in Bhopal will sell the complete Audi India Model range, and will also house an Audi Shop and Audi Exclusive elements, where customers can order customised products and purchase a variety of Audi branded merchandise.
Balenciaga, Paris
Balenciaga has debuted its 60th directly operated store on the Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris, after a flurry of six openings in 2012 alone, to be followed by a further seven by year’s end. The landmark retail location features French chateau floors, green marble, and orange accents, and will house the full collection of Balenciaga products.
Website: balenciaga.com
Source: Balenciaga Facebook
BMW, Moscow, Paris
The BMW Group has opened its most recent BMW Brand Store on Avenue George V, Paris, designed by Eric Carlson and his team from Carbondale Architects and Version Architects. The store marks the launch of a new retail concept for the brand, “Future Retail”, where BMW will seek to increase the number of contact points for customers, improve retail services and enhance retail across channels.
BMW has also launched a lounge dedicated to its 7 Series model in downtown Moscow, Russia. The ‘’7 Studio’’ space remains open for two months and will host events in collaboration with other major luxury brands. One such exclusive planned event being in collaboration with Louis Vuitton.
Website: bmw.com
Source: BMW Blog, CPP Luxury
Bottega Veneta, Shanghai
Bottega Veneta has launched a 530sqm boutique within Shanghai’s Yi Feng gallery, housing both men & women’s handbags, luggage, ready-to-wear, shoes, small leather goods, eyewear and a selection of items for the home. The second floor is entirely dedicated to art and will showcase the works of young Chinese artists, in a series of non-commercial exhibitions throughout the year.
Website & Source: bottegaveneta.com
Brioni, Hangzhou
Brioni has opened doors in Hangzhou, China, within Hangzhou Tower Shopping City, in a bid to capture central and northeastern Chinese Mainland consumers. The 100sqm store is in keeping with Brioni’s current global design concept, with a touch of local influences in timber’s and fabrics used.
Website: brioni.com
Source: Luxos
Cartier, Abu Dhabi
Cartier has inaugurated its latest boutique in Abu Dhabi, to coincide with the opening of its “Tiaras & Royalties” exhibition, which will run until June 15, 2012 at Avenue at Etihad Towers. The new space has been designed by Bruno Moinard, to create a series of distinct, but interconnected, environments, mixing both traditional and contemporary elements to reflect the diverse range of product lines.
Website: cartier.com
Source: Day & Night
Chloé, Hong Kong
Richemont’s Chloé has opened its third store in Hong Kong, within Causeway Bay’s Lee Gardens. Light colours dominate contemporary interiors and carefully controlled lighting reproduces natural sunlight, complementing the light entering from the bronze-framed windows.
Escada, Bucharest
Escada has launched a mono-brand boutique in the Romanian capital city of Bucharest, within the shopping gallery of the city’s JW Marriott Hotel, joining recent openings by Valentino, Dunhill & Ermanno Scervino. The store will be operated under a franchising agreement, by local fashion designer, socialite and business entrepreneur Romanitza Iovan.
Website: escada.com
Source: CPP Luxury
Fabergé, New York
Fabergé has opened its first US boutique in New York, on famed shopping strip Madison Avenue, featuring silk curtains, brushed oak flooring, a rich purple button-backed wall, in a bid to subtly evoke Romanov splendour. The 80sqm space will house Fabergé High and Fine Jewellery, Timepieces, Cufflinks, and Silver collections, as well as an exclusive new collection, Les Précieuses de Fabergé, paying tribute to the unrivalled style of America’s Gilded Age society.
Website & Source: faberge.com
Hublot, Budapest
Hublot has opened a new boutique in Budapest, opened in partnership with John Grove & Partners, spanning 120sqm accommodating a VIP lounge and another more exclusive bar. Fittings are in keeping with the Hublot “Art of Fusion Black” concept and feature ebony-coloured leather floor tiles, as well as a giant-screen video wall, remote controlled from Switzerland, showcasing brand content.
Website & Source: hublot.com
Hugo Boss, Paris
Hugo Boss has launched its largest flagship store on l’Avenue des Champs-Élysées, unveiling the first of ten worldwide BOSS flagship stores under a new design concept. Key elements in the new concept include black steel grids with LED strips juxtaposed with fabric wall panels. Black profiles contrast with bronze-tinted glass, while high-gloss, mirrored surfaces enhance the classic mood of the space.
Website & Source: boss.com
Louis Vuitton, Taipei
Louis Vuitton has opened its largest store in Taiwan and its first in Taipei. The Taipei 101 Maison is located on the forth and fifth floor of the iconic Taipei 101 skyscraper, the world’s second tallest building. The boutique features a special travel room offering the brand’s iconic luggage, a garden terrace, its Haute Maroquinerie service and an exclusive Tambour Disc Taipei watch.
Website: louisvuitton.com
Source: Louis Vuitton Facebook
Nicholas Kirkwood, New York
Footwear designer Nicholas Kirkwood has opened his first store in the states on Washington Street in New York. The 1,400sqm boutique has been designed as a gallery, where his colourful shoes and accessories are set against white, grey and taupe walls. The space, designed by architect Mehroonsh Khadivi, incorporates elegant white concrete Versailles parquet flooring, which leads to a private garden in the back.
Website: nicholaskirkwood.com
Source: Pink Memo
Prada, Casablanca, Kiev
Prada has opened two standalone stores within Casablanca’s new Morocco Mall, each dedicated to women’s and menswear respectively. The women’s store spans 380sqm and offers ready-to-wear, footwear, leather goods and accessories collections. The Italian brand has also opened its first mono-brand boutique in Kiev, Ukraine, over 550sqm dedicated to women’s’ leather goods, accessories, shoes and clothing collections. Architect Roberto Baciocchi has designed all stores, in keeping with the current global design concept.
Website: prada.com
Source: CPP Luxury, Fibre2Fashion
Rolls Royce, Long Island
Rolls Royce has launched its largest dealership in the United States, Royce Motor Cars Long Island, operated by Bespoke Motor Group. The 850sqm space houses a dozen or more Rolls-Royce models, alongside a state-of-the-art service facility and customer configuration lounge in the world. The dealership is the second to launch in the U.S. this year, joining an existing family of 36 Rolls-Royce dealerships in North America.
Website: rolls-roycemotorcars.com
Source: Motor Authority
Tag Heuer, Bangalore, Mumbai
TAG Heuer has launched its second boutique in Bangalore at the Phoenix Market City Mall, alongside a new Mumbai destination at the Palladium Mall at Lower Parel in Mumbai. Franck Dardenne, General Manager TAG Heuer India explained “India has been of primary importance in TAG Heuer’s global presence and it gives me great pleasure to launch our sixth and seventh boutique in India, Bangalore’s second and Mumbai’s second too.”
Website & Source: tagheuer.com
For more in the series of The Latest Boutiques, please see our most recent editions as follows:
– The Latest Boutiques: Sotheby’s, Shanghai Tang & Salvatore Ferragamo
– The Latest Boutiques: Chanel, Tom Ford & Valentino
– The Latest Boutiques: Céline, Chaumet & Elie Saab
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.
