PARIS Igniting its expansion drive, Dior Homme is to christen a 3,200-square-foot flagship on the Rue François 1er here tonight, decamping from the historic Avenue Montaigne boutique to a more expansive, sunny and streamlined space spread over two floors.
Larger boutiques, an expanded array of accessories, ramped-up communications and a push into new markets are the chief growth avenues laid out by Serge Brunschwig, recently named president of Dior Homme, in addition to his responsibilities as chief operating officer at Christian Dior Couture.
I think we all recognize that with such a name, there was a way to go further, the executive said in his first interview since taking on the role Sept. 1. Its our ambition to have a larger footprint.
Brunschwig declined to discuss figures, but noted that Dior has 195 boutiques worldwide, including 62 addresses for Dior Homme, either embedded in multicategory Dior boutiques or in freestanding mens units, as is the case on Via Montenapoleone in Milan, for example.
Larger stores will allow Dior Homme to better showcase its product ranges, including footwear, business and travel bags, plus ready-to-wear ranges devoted to formal and fashion parts of the collection, Friday wear and demi-mesure tailoring, Brunschwig said, describing a wish to offer greater clarity of collections.
Bigger units can also accommodate a greater range of services, including an in-house atelier, offered at the new François 1er store, located next door to Dior Hommes new headquarters on the Rue Marignan, which include the design studios of Kris Van Assche, creative director since 2007.
Leading a tour of the store on Wednesday, Brunschwig described the location as ideal, the wedge-shaped building affording lots of windows and natural light, and located at a crucial junction in the so-called Golden Triangle shopping district bounded by Avenue Montaigne, Avenue George V and the Avenues des Champs-Élysées.
In recent years, the site, which is next door to the popular eatery LAvenue, housed temporary stores for Louis Vuitton and Céline, and prior to that
Fendi, all brands controlled by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
On the stores main floor, business cases, backpacks and small leather goods are showcased on wooden plinths or tall, silver and white shelves, with a footwear salon to the right for sneakers and more casual fashion footwear.
We have a big ambition expanding leather goods. We think we have potential in this, Brunschwig said.
Up a sleek flight of stairs bordered with thick slabs of milky resin, a key design feature throughout the store, are multiple rooms devoted to rtw, with jeans, polos, sweaters and dress shirts stacked on sleek shelves; scarves hung on gleaming, square silver rods, and tuxedos and suits featured on long rails. The floor culminates in the demi-mesure salon, where clients can order suits and shirts, choosing from multiple collar and cuff options for the latter.
Fitting rooms are spacious, appointed with matte leather armchairs, and low mirrored or wooden tables, echoing the mix of warm and cool materials throughout the store. The walls and floors a warm gray shade.
Brunschwig noted the previous Dior Homme location did not have sufficient space for seating or other creature comforts.
Dior already operates large-scale units for men in its building on Omotesando in Tokyo, in the new House of Dior building in Seoul, and the recently relocated Landmark boutique in Hong Kong. Major projects next year include a Dior Homme boutique on New Bond Street in London, and another in Cannes, just ahead of the film festival there in May.
Dior Homme entered four markets this year: Düsseldorf in Germany; Bangkok in Thailand; Vancouver in Canada, and Seoul, in a building by architect Christian de Portzamparc.
Next year, Malaysia is among new markets it will enter, Brunschwig noted.
While acknowledging that mens has been a standout category in the luxury sector in recent years, he said this was not the primary reason for ramping up development. Its clearly a category that is developing, but we dont link our effort to this. Dior is a brand that is managed for the very long-term, Brunschwig said. We felt it was the right time to do this acceleration.
Dior will hold a cocktail party at the new store tonight during Paris Fashion Week.
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