HEAVY METAL: Balenciaga is on a retail roll, with the second store under creative director Demna Gvasalia’s artistic direction set to open in Paris in September.
It marks the brand’s fourth boutique in the capital and second in its so-called golden triangle, which also counts a store on the neighboring Avenue George V that Balenciaga said it plans to keep.
The boutique, located at 57 Avenue Montaigne, will sport the same metal-based industrial concept unveiled at the recently revamped Rue Saint-Honoré flagship in March, based on a clothing warehouse, and is to house Balenciaga’s full men’s and women’s collections.
In the Saint-Honoré store, clothes hang on industrial conveyor rails similar to those in the brand’s production headquarters in Italy. Adding to the factory feel of the space, ceilings are covered in aluminum foil, the changing room walls are made of cast concrete and the utilitarian benches are covered in synthetic leather. Other industrial touches include silicone changing-room curtains and long, aluminum tables for displaying accessories.
The Kering-owned brand, which has 115 stores worldwide, under its new chief executive officer Cédric Charbit recently revved up its management team for merchandising and retail development.
As reported, Daphné Cousineau, who has held key international sales roles at Céline,
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