Saint Laurent new store concept takes first steps

By

Florent Gilles

Published
Sep 24, 2012

The architectural concept of Hedi Slimane is ready. The house confirmed later last week through an interview in Women's Wear Daily along with photos. Black and white marble butts up against raw concrete and gold and chrome-edged mirrors playfully refract the space under industrial neon lights and a steel ceiling. 

The PPR brand especially wanted to talk about its plans for store openings. Next Tuesday, the 300-square-meter flagship in Shanghai will open for business, followed by a reopening of their Berlin boutique in November. 

However, none of these stores will host an official inauguration, since they still offer products by Stefano Pilati. This hybrid situation will not affect the opening of the 900-square-meter Saint Laurent store on the Avenue Montaigne in Paris, housed in the space of the former Escada flagship with Fendi for its neighbour. 



This three-level boutique has been vacant for two years and will now be the brand's largest store in France. Its opening has finally been scheduled for March 2013, probably in time for the Paris Fashion Week. The first men's and resort 2013 collections of Hedi Slimane were presented last June to a handful of buyers and will have arrived in stores by then, which could accelerate store openings. 



YSL president Paul Denèvetalks about a plan for "15 store openings and Saint Laurent corners a year," starting in 2013. The house has not opened stores since 2010. In New York, where there is only one YSL store, everyone is still waiting for the opening of Saint Laurent on Mercer Street in SoHo.