Dior’s Cruise Caravan Visits Bergdorf Goodman
The retailer is making the most of its partnership with the Paris-based brand.
Dior continues to carve out exclusive pieces of Maria Grazia Chiuri’s wellreceived cruise 2020 collection for the brand’s retail partners in Manhattan.
Chiuri’s designs, which were inspired by Africa and unveiled in April at a runway show in Marrakech, launched in New York last month at Saks Fifth Avenue, where the flagship’s six main windows were devoted to Dior installations.
Now, it’s Bergdorf Goodman’s turn. A Dior handbag shop on the main floor, two Dior-dedicated windows on Fifth Avenue, a Baobab Christmas tree installation in the main floor luxury room, installations on the second floor’s shoe salon, and one in the second floor hallway, and escalators covered in Dior’s camouflage print and logo are some of the ways the retailer is amplifying the brand. Bergdorf’s is the first retailer in the U.S. to offer the camouflage collection, which is part of the cruise line.
“We were incredibly passionate about this collection,” said Darcy Penick, president of Bergdorf Goodman. “This is the largest scale takeover during my time here. We’ve refreshed the ready-to-wear shop and Dior has a significant presence in shoes. For the fashion loving luxury customer, Dior is perfect partner. There so much that’s special about the [resort] collection, with signature aspects that draw on core codes of the house, and also new patterns. The customer continues to fall in with Dior love season after season.”
Chiuri on Tuesday will visit Bergdorf’s to see the brand’s many focal points and attend a private cocktail event. “We’re thrilled to be hosting her,” Penick said.
“It’s incredibly special.”
Dior unveiled a new handbag shop with a larger footprint and “a fresh expression of their color story,” Penick said. “It’s incredibly luxurious. It’s a one-of-a-kind shop that Dior created specially for us. It’s very synergistic with the natural space in our store.”
Designed by Dimore Studios, the handbag shop is meant to suggest to visitors a place where collectible items are found, a nod to Christian Dior’s early days. Before he became a couturier, Dior was as an art dealer.
With iconic 20th-century lighting such as Max Ingrand’s sconces and round chandelier by Hans-Agne Jakobsson; counters and displays upholstered in Dimoremilano satin fabrics; stools made from brushed steel and polished brass, and ottomans in cannage, the topstich pattern used for Lady Dior handbags, the new space has a precious quality.
Dior’s personalization service, ABCDior, is being offered at the new handbag shop through Nov. 25. Consumers can have their name embroidered on the book tote, saddle bag, Diorcamp bag or Walk’n’Dior sneakers. Bergdorf’s is the only U.S. location to offer personalization on straps and backpacks.
“The window takeover is a bit unique,” Penick said. “We’ve put a screen over the windows, along with a light projection. This takeover includes moments that we haven’t historically done. There’s a significant takeover in ready-to-wear, and an immersive element on first and second floors.
This is definitely a brand where we’ve experienced growth.”