Translated by
Nicola Mira
Printed
December 18, 2024
Alaïa is positioning itself within the artwork of residing section. Because it did in Paris, the Richemont-owned couture label has opened a café and bookshop above its great retailer at 139 New Bond Avenue, London. The shop was inaugurated in 2018 and extends over two ranges, the bottom ground and first ground. Alaïa has determined to make use of the second ground, on the prime of the constructing, so as to add a brand new dimension to its presence within the UK capital.
The bookshop space – Alaïa
Alaïa has partnered with London bookshop Claire de Rouen, which was tasked with selecting, in collaboration with Alaïa’s artistic director Pieter Mulier, the gorgeous books accessible throughout the retailer, on the market or for studying.
“A selection of rare books on art, fashion and photography, reflecting the label’s deep appreciation for the arts,” mentioned Alaïa in a press launch, including that it stays “true to its commitment to foster cultural exchange and a convivial spirit.”
The house has been designed as a lounge with massive darkish sofas and plush carpeting, whereas metal is the dominant materials within the adjoining café, outfitted with a counter on the finish of the room and a big central desk.
“A welcoming space, conducive to conversation and discovery, embodying the warmth and family spirit that define the Alaïa heritage,” mentioned the label, which has partnered for this undertaking with Violet Truffles, an unbiased pastry shop-café based by Californian pastry chef Claire Ptak. Alaïa opened its first café-restaurant in 2021, inside its Parisian flagship at 5 Rue de Marignan. Initially, the café was run by native delicatessen-wine bar Da Rosa. Alaïa later determined to handle the café immediately, and is now searching for a companion. The thought behind the café-restaurant was to perpetuate the label’s heritage by paying tribute to its founder, Franco-Tunisian couturier Azzedine Alaïa, who died in 2017 and was famend for his hospitality and his love of delicacies. Many high-flying Parisians, together with fashions, celebrities, artists and intellectuals, have dined with the couturier and his workers over time in his rue de Moussy studio. The Alaïa retailer at 7 rue de Moussy now additionally has a café. The label is planning to incorporate a restaurant additionally inside the brand new Parisian retailer that’s set to open in January, along with its new headquarters at 15 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. In France, Alaïa can be commercialised at Le Bon Marché and Galeries Lafayette malls. The label operates a complete of 14 stores worldwide, between shops (additionally in New York, Dubai, and elsewhere) and shop-in-shops, particularly in Japan and the Center East. Plus the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré tackle, a retailer that can open on the finish of December in Costa Mesa, California, and a nook on the Daimaru division retailer in Tokyo.
A view of the café on the highest ground of Alaïa’s London retailer – Alaïa
Increasing a model’s scope, notably via the restaurant enterprise, is one other solution to broaden its clientèle and appeal to new prospects through a diversified experiential providing. Main luxurious labels have understood this, and lately lots of them have deployed initiatives of this sort. Amongst them Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, which opened its first restaurant, overseen by chef Jean Imbert, at its iconic Parisian tackle on Avenue Montaigne in 2022. In 2023, LVMH-owned Dior tapped celeb chef Anne-Sophie Pic to plan the menu of the Café Dior on the Kansai worldwide airport in Osaka, Japan. Below Pic’s aegis, Dior has just lately introduced it’ll open new cafés in two of its shops in Asia. One in Ginza, Tokyo, Japan, and the opposite in Chengdu, China.
