Valentino has opened a 1,076-square-foot store at Iguatemi São Paulo, the upscale shopping center whose tenants include Chanel, Cartier, Gucci, Prada, Saint Laurent and Ferragamo.
The store, which is Valentino’s first unit in Brazil, represents a concept developed by the brand’s creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli and British architect David Chipperfield. Valentino operates stores elsewhere in South America in Argentina, Chile and Columbia.
During the Aughts, when a newly minted middle class was shopping with gusto, luxury brands flocked to Brazil. However, the pipeline of high-end names slowed in recent years as the economy softened with high interest rates and rising inflation sapping consumers’ spending power.
A new Brazilian president, Michel Temer, took office in May after his protégé, Dilma Rousseff, was removed following her impeachment. Consumer confidence has improved, albeit from record lows. Brazil’s economy is expected to grow a feeble 0.2 percent this year.
Valentino has been courting Brazilian customers, dressing actress Marina Ruy Barbosa and other celebrities.
With areas for ready-to-wear, accessories and fragrance, the store combines old and new elements into the design. Piccioli and Chipperfield moved away from the traditional store model, using architecture to suggest a palazzo. “This is the idea of a new future that’s not nostalgic, but full of memories,” Piccioli said. “The architecture is designed
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