Fashion retail is always the forefront of innovation and creativity. In today's highly commercialized market, a brand does not only need products, but also needs to tell stories, understand marketing, and connect with consumers on a spiritual level, and ultimately gain consumers' perception and recognition of the brand and cultural background.
Customers make purchases largely because they like the stories surrounding the brand and the lifestyle associated with it.
To this end, this article selects the latest flagship store space designs of several fashion and luxury brands in recent years, hoping to bring some inspiration and enlightenment to friends and understand the latest ideas in fashion scenes.
These stores are roughly divided into the following categories according to their regional attributes:
World fashion trend stores - such as Celine's New Bond Street flagship store in London and Ferrari's first lifestyle boutique in the United States;
Famous tourist destination stores - Burberry's Jeju Island Iceberg pop-up store in South Korea and Dior's "3D printing" concept store in Dubai.
It is observed that the focus of these retail brand stores is mainly on the following points:
Artistic and design sense;
Environmental protection and sustainable fashion;
Cross-border with other formats to open up channels for brand revenue growth;
Immersive services and experiences that convey the brand's tone;
CASE 1
Celine London New Bond Street flagship store
Gallery-style space
Address | 40 NEW BOND STREET, LONDON W1S 2RX
Recently, French luxury brand Celine opened a unique flagship store on London's New Bond Street: CELINE LONDON NEW BOND STREET.
The store covers an area of 466 square meters and is located in a two-story Edwardian building. The interior design is by the brand's creative director Hedi Slimane. The unique modern materials and color combinations contrast sharply with the classical architecture, reflecting the luxury concept pursued by Hedi Slimane.
In addition to launching a full range of men's and women's ready-to-wear, accessories, shoes, handbags, small leather goods, glasses and perfume series, the flagship store's greatest attraction is the display of works by eight artists including Nika Neelova, Leilah Babirye and Davina Semo, including paintings, sculptures and furniture. All works are carefully selected by Slimane, who hopes that each work can inspire a dialogue with the surrounding environment.
These artworks create a unique tension between public and private spaces, exhibitions and exhibitors, materials and meanings. It is understood that some of the works on display include: Nika Neelova's work - Lemniscate XI and Lemniscate XIV; Davina Semo's work - a polished cast bronze bell; New York sculptor Leilah Babirye's work: Najunga from the Kuchu Ngaali (Crested Crane) Clan:
Slimane tried to interact with the Edwardian building, which is listed as a Grade II protected cultural relic, in two unique ways.
The ground floor is dedicated to the brand’s womenswear, creating an atmosphere of French elegance and classic luxury, with a separate octagonal room: designed in the manner of an Italian grotto, with delicate shells, dedicated to the Celine Haute Parfumerie range.
The basement, where the menswear is displayed, offers a minimalist art gallery space with lower ceilings, starker walls and concrete floors.
Another lounge area offers a moment of comfort and contemplation, with a polished cast-bronze clock by Davina Semo hanging from the ceiling above modernist chairs; fur-upholstered chairs are combined with De-Stijl-style wooden options and more brutalist stainless steel shapes. Invited consumers can browse freely.
Slimane attaches great importance to the issue of materials, so he was particularly careful in the selection of works. The works on display by Babirye and Neelova both use environmentally friendly materials.
Babirye admits that many of the materials in his works are "garbage" picked up from the street. Some of these works are works of Celine Art Project. Through this project, Celine has customized works from artists in various countries around the world and displayed them in the store. So far, the total number of customized works has reached nearly 80.
CASE 2
Ralph Lauren's new flagship store in Milan
A place that feels like home but is also elegant
Address | Via Spiga, Milan's Golden Quadrilateral
On November 17, a new flagship store for American fashion brand Ralph Lauren opened in Milan. The flagship store, called "World Ralph Lauren", covers an area of nearly 16,000 square feet and has five floors. The flagship store brings together Ralph Lauren men's, women's and RRL brands, and is equipped with a Ralph Lauren bar and restaurant.
The store gives people a residential feeling like home, which also reflects the designer's consistent concept of "home is where the heart is". "My first store on Madison Avenue in New York is also very livable. We called it Mansion, which changed people's perception of retail. I regard clothes, taste and home environment as one." Lauren told fashion media WWD in an exclusive interview on Zoom. "You walk into my home and I welcome you to a place that feels like home but is also elegant."
The interior of the store is made of traditional limestone and terracotta materials. Reclaimed wood floors are paired with oak and walnut paneling and decorated with bronze, distressed brass and wrought iron.
The new store showcases the RRL series on the first floor, men's polo and accessories are sold on the first floor, and purple label and tailor-made are on the second floor;
Women's clothing and accessories are distributed on the top two floors, featuring Polo, accessories and Collection series.
To complete the products, a series of home gifts and decorative accessories are also available throughout the store.
The Ralph Lauren Bar and Restaurant is located on the first floor, providing consumers with Ralph Lauren's iconic hamburgers, mini lobster rolls, wine and customized cocktails, etc. The bar is open all day.
CASE 3
Ferrari’s first lifestyle boutique in the United States
Interpreting the brand’s full-category luxury strategy with retail space
Address | 360 North Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California
In 2021, Ferrari, one of Italy’s top sports car brands, officially opened its first lifestyle and fashion boutique in the United States in Los Angeles.
To mark this milestone, the brand held a four-day event and celebration in Southern California from November 13 to November 16, 2021. The store is located on the famous shopping street, Rodeo Drive, close to Hollywood.
The store covers an area of approximately 205 square meters and displays the first series of products designed by the brand’s creative director Rocco Iannone. The fashion series has a total of 52 looks, 80% of which are neutral designs, based on fashion, but with an overall casual and sporty tone.
"This is not a sideline, people need to understand that," said John Elkann, interim C.E.O. of Ferrari and C.E.O. of parent company Exor, when talking about the clothing line. "We are showing the world a lifestyle and expanding the younger generation and female fan base." In the decoration style of the store, the brand has retained the unique charm and temperament of "Ferrari sports car" as much as possible, and suspended the V8 engine of Ferrari Portofino in the store as an art installation, adding a sense of fashion and artistic atmosphere. Previously, Ferrari has opened fashion boutique flagship stores in Maranello and Milan, where the company is headquartered.
CASE 4
Burberry "Mirror" pop-up store
Expresses the spirit of weakening the brand and highlighting the artistic intention
Address | Hallasan, Jeju Island, South Korea
In mid-November 2021, British luxury brand Burberry built a "mirror palace" on Jeju Island, South Korea. This is a limited-time boutique experience store called "Imagined Landscapes", and it is also Burberry's first immersive brand experience hall. Its appearance is mainly composed of reflective mirror materials, which combines two different experiences: natural landscape and technological exploration.
The sun shines on the pure and smooth mirror, and the lush mountain scenery around it is set off on the building. The towering and shining volume forms an excellent contrast with the natural scenery. The undulating appearance not only echoes the outline of the layered mountain landscape, but also pays tribute to the pioneering spirit of the brand founder Thomas Burberry.
In addition to the display of brand products and collections, Burberry cooperated with French artist Maotik, Korean artist Cao Yuxi and new media designer Liu Jiayu to jointly design an internal venue that seems to be immersed in infinite nature. Interactive projection screens and film and television works exploring the theme of nature are successively exhibited here.
In addition, the pop-up store is just one step away from the Burberry cafe-Thomas's Café, named after the brand founder.
The interior design combines Burberry's most classic brown, beige and deer patterns into wall decoration and furniture design, with collage ceilings, warm wood veneers, and mirror-wrapped square seats. Customers can taste Jeju Island's specialty "citrus"-shaped desserts and latte art with the Burberry brand logo here.
Different from the pop-up stores that are usually opened in large shopping malls or downtown business districts, Burberry has broken away from the "traffic first" principle of pop-up stores this time, and is full of adventurous spirit in the selection of locations and design concepts. This design that weakens the brand and highlights the artistic intention blurs the boundaries between nature and technology, reality and imagination.
It is understood that Burberry built this unique experience store to continue the brand's pursuit of freedom and environmental protection.
CASE 5
Dior Dubai "3D Printing" Pop-up Store
Applying advanced digital construction technology to reduce ecological impact
Address | Jumeirah Beach, Dubai, UAE
In November of 2021, Dior, a French luxury brand under the LVMH Group, cooperated with Italian 3D printing company WASP to open a sustainable pop-up concept store printed with natural materials on Jumeirah Beach, Dubai, combining the local topography of Dubai with the local customs and characteristics of the Middle East.
The concept store consists of two cylindrical modules, using WASP's sustainable building 3D printing technology, using clay, sand and natural fibers for 3D printing, and the exterior wall simulates Dior's classic handbag design.
WASP redeployed the Crane-WASP collaborative 3D printing system to create structures in luxurious aesthetics.
The building has a total area of 80 square meters, using 2 Crane WASP printers and 55 tons of printing materials. The construction process requires almost no human intervention, and the modular structure takes 120 hours to print. Using advanced digital construction techniques, WASP was able to manufacture the 3D printed circular building with minimal waste, reducing ecological impact.
The color scheme of the entire space of the store adopts white and neutral tones. The store displays the Dioriviera series designed by Dior Artistic Director Maria Grazia Chiuri and products using the "Toile De Jouy" fabric. The rest of the space is composed of white beach chairs and neutral furniture.
With the improvement of the global epidemic and the development of international tourism, the creation of the new Dior store is a timely demonstration of how the concept of sustainable development is promoted in the new normal world.
High-quality space is better than advertising, and consumers can deeply perceive the brand story in their own experience. From the new fashion stores of the above-mentioned well-known brands:
Celine's New Bond Street flagship store in London provides an art experience space like a gallery. Designers' ideas, artists' works and displayed goods collide in the old cultural relics, creating a classical and luxurious atmosphere. The store perfectly integrates artistry, design, sustainable fashion and brand tone;
Ralph Lauren's new flagship store in Milan creates an elegant place that brings a home-like service experience, continuing the brand's consistent concept of "home is where the heart is";
The opening of Ferrari's lifestyle boutique in Los Angeles once again declares its intention to enter all categories and expand consumer circles such as young people and female fans;
Burberry's "mirror" pop-up store pays great attention to design, integrating natural landscapes with technological exploration, highlighting the brand's pursuit of freedom;
Dior's "3D printing" pop-up store in Dubai is a classic example of applying advanced architectural technology to environmental protection and sustainable fashion.
