January, 2nd, 2013

ton.com%E2%80%9D” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Louis Vuit ton flagship s tore on Bond Street in Lon don in 2010, is symp tomatic of a trend among fashion houses to establish a more permanent presence in influential cities around the world. Now a model that seems half br and marketing and half conceptual art, the idea of a “ ton.com%E2%80%9D” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>what does the concept of a flagship s tore represent, particularly in the multi-country model that many companies a dopt as well as in the face of an increasingly digital-oriented retail market for fashion?

It’s funny to think that the luxury goods giant ton.com%E2%80%9D” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>layetier-emballeur-malletier, later ton.com%E2%80%9D” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Napoleon III to design luggage for his wife, ton.com%E2%80%9D” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Rue Neuve des Capucines in ton.com%E2%80%9D” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>1854 and eventually opened his first s tore on ton.com%E2%80%9D” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Lon don in ton.com%E2%80%9D” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>1913, by when the company had become the largest travel goods manufacturer in the world.

ton.com%E2%80%9D” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>most luxurious s tore to date” on ton.com%E2%80%9D” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Lon don, only a few streets away from their first retail space. But, what does this new s tore signify for the br and and for the luxury market in general? The ton.com%E2%80%9D” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Champs-Elysées s tore established an updated presence, confirming the br and’s permanent position on the elite roster of luxury br and s tores on what is arguably the most famous shopping street in the world.

Some ton.com%E2%80%9D” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Euro has decreased costs and increased sales for luxury goods manufacturers whose primary business is overseas in the United States and Asia. This trend suggests that part of the impetus behind the choice of Lon don for ton.com%E2%80%9D” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>7 millards € en 2012, presentation, and s tore location. Jean Bergeron, former president of the Comité Colbert in France, defines luxury as “part dream, but its reality is excellence…. Yes, the superfluous is essential and luxury is the silk of dreams. Dreams are what create all human adventures. It is not money, but dreams.” (Translated from a brochure from L’Agence Regionale d’Information Strategique et Techologique de Paris).

Of course, the popular conception of haute couture as representing all luxury fashion is a misnomer. In fact, the ton.com%E2%80%9D” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Haute Couture. Technically, it refers to cus tom-order fashion, as opposed to prêt-a-porter. In France, to qualify as Haute Couture, a fashion house has to meet a set of qualifications and then be approved by the Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Paris in order to call themselves true artisans of Haute Couture.

Technicalities aside, then, the new ton.com%E2%80%9D” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>The concept of a flagship s tore is a living cultural artifact: a way for luxury br ands to make their mark, setting up a type of cultural permanence. This seems comforting in the face of so much impermanence in the virtual world established by online media. Even the multiplicity of flagships, i.e. a company having “ ton.com%E2%80%9D” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>cultural diplomacy, even if from a profit-driven st andpoint.

So, the next time you’re in ton.com%E2%80%9D” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Vuit ton “L’Édi tor