FRENCH CONNECTION
Christian Dior is reaching for the stars with its stylish new Shanghai flagship boutique
French fashion house Christian Dior opened its new flagship boutique at Plaza 66 in downtown Shanghai on Oct 18, its first flagship store in China that combines womenswear with menswear.
The three-floor boutique in Shanghai is very similar in style to the renowned Dior fashion house on 30 Avenue Montaigne, Paris, which showcases art, design and creativity. Each floor features installations and pieces by world-famous artists and designers.
Women’s collections are located on the first and second floors, while Dior Homme occupies the lower ground floor featuring a window decorated with mirrors. There are also VIP rooms for their custom-tailor service.
“I’m very happy to connect women’s and men’s fashion in one store and to be able to display all our product ranges from fine jewelry, shoes, ready-to-wear, leather goods and accessories,” Sidney Toledano, Dior’s CEO tells China Daily in Shanghai.
He is especially satisfied with the huge space that “should make clients feel comfortable.”
“And with the women’s and men’s sections connected, you can buy gifts for boyfriends or husbands as you shop for yourself,” Toledano says.
With the opening of the boutique, Dior also launched exclusive products for China including handbags, scarves, earrings, watches and a series of men’s products.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of Christian Dior. In 2017, Dior ranked 234 on the Fortune Global 500, and remains the only luxury fashion company still making the list. It is also the second event the French fashion house has undertaken in Shanghai this year. In June, they launched the “I Feel Blue” event to promote the 2017 autumn/ winter ready-to-wear collection by womenswear artistic director, Maria Grazia Chiuri.
“Since 1994 (when Dior opened their first boutique in Shanghai), we have believed from the very beginning that China was going to be not only an important market, but a super-high-quality market, so we needed to show excellence in our boutiques, their location, and the teams,” says the CEO.
“The market is really good. I’m always optimistic about China, even when people say China is slowing down in terms of economic growth. But you are still growing faster than Europe. It’s a growing market, and it’s kind of dynamic. People like to spend.”
“It is not only in China. Chinese people travel around the world. In their home country, we must provide the best experience in our boutiques. This is the key market for me.”
According to a Shanghai-based RTG Consulting Group, China’s millennials choose Dior as their most loved luxury brand.
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