October 29th, 2009
South Korean pop star Rain attended yesterday the grand opening of the IWC Schaffhausen flagship store at the 1881 Heritage Boutique in Hong Kong.
IWC Schaffhausen (International Watch Co.) is a famous high-end Swiss watch manufacturer and Rain was personally invited for this grand opening.
French soccer star Zinedine Zidane who joined the brand’s army of ambassadors in 2008 was also in attendance for the opening.
June 5th, 2009
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Gucci opens it 28th store in China on the 6 June 2009, to mark the occasion Frida Giannini has created a limited edition “Shanghai Dragon Bag”.
A version of the sort after Boston Bag in white with two red Dragons facing each other in a symmetrical fashion and the Gucci signature in the middle, underneath is a bright red column.
Inspiration for the design comes from ancient Chinese Symbolism including the use of prosperous red, a sign of good luck.
March 28th, 2009
Luxury goods company Cartier on Thursday braved the deepening global recession to launch its biggest boutique so far in the Middle East.
The 700 square-meter showroom in the upscale Dubai Mall testifies to the Cartier’s confidence that chilly economic winds will not deter well-heeled residents and visitors to Dubai from buying its jewelry, watches, handbags and other high-end merchandise.
The opening event was attended by actress Monica Bellucci and Bollywood stars including Anil Kapoor.
January 23rd, 2009
On 19 February 2009, Vertu will open Ginza Flagship Store, its first store in Japan. At the store, pre-orders of handsets will be taken for delivery when VERTU Club is available.
Those who simply cannot wait until the launch of the VERTU Club in the second quarter of 2009 will be able to purchase SIM lock-free 3G handsets of Ascent Ti, Ascent Ti Ferrari or Signature models for voice calls.
The Vertu Ginza Flagship Store will be the 19th store in the world to be directly operated by Vertu. At the Ginza Flagship Store, customers will be able to see the whole Vertu collection and experience the difference.
April 4th, 2008
Highly visible, more than a thousand Swarovski boutiques and concessions are located in all major fashion capitals around the world. Now, Swarovski opened a new flagship store in Tokyo’s renowned Ginza district on Saturday, March 29, 2008.
It will showcase the entire Daniel Swarovski Couture Line and the jewellery and accessories from the Swarovski fashion collection.
Three exclusive Ginza limited edition pieces will be available at this particular flagship store: the Black Elvis Pendant, the Signature Necklace and the Signature Power Evening Bag.
Modelled on the flagship store, all of the other Swarovski boutiques will be refurbished from 2008 according to the new architectural concept. These new design concepts have resulted from the collaboration between Swarovski and the famous Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka.
Inside the Ginza boutique the “Crystal Forest” comes to life. All of the walls are textured with reflective white relief prisms of various lengths. These faceted, multi-layered elements create visual depth and exude an internal rhythm. For this one-of-a-kind boutique, named Swarovski Ginza, the conventions of design are challenged by bringing the “inside to the outside”. An experience to embrace when in Tokyo!
March 21st, 2008
Coinciding with London Fashion Week, Parisian haute-couture house Balenciaga has opened a flagship store in Mayfair. The store is a collaborative project between Balenciaga designer Nicolas Ghesquière, French artist Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster and lighting designer Benoit Lalloz. Previously the three creatives worked together on Balenciaga’s New York flagship store.
With the latest technology in mind, the creative team came up with a futuristic interior featuring plasma screens, silver walls and all white changing rooms. The ceiling is covered in bright coloured pixels and complements the coloured clothing rails.
With the shop design, Balenciaga leave the traditional set up of a store far behind. Normally an architect and marketer would be the creators of a store, but this new shopping space is the result of a close collaboration between a designer and artist.
