Gucci has extended its U.S. footprint with new stores in Las Vegas and Dallas.
The fashion brand opened an 11,000-square-foot Las Vegas store in the Crystals at CityCenter this month, featuring a design conceived by creative director Frida Giannini in the model of its Fifth Avenue flagship. In addition, a 6,445-square-foot boutique launched in September at NorthPark Center, the successor to the smaller 20-year-old unit at Galleria Dallas, which will remain open at least through the holidays.
“I wanted to amplify the luxuriousness of the Gucci store environments and to create an aesthetic which is complementary to the vision of the brand today,” Giannini said of the CityCenter store. “This design concept is a modern architectural statement that references the iconic Gucci materials and elements of stores from the past. Everything was carefully chosen to make the design stand out while highlighting the collections in the strongest possible way.”
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To mark the store opening, Giannini created an exclusive sneaker in a combination of precious skins — python, ostrich and crocodile — in a mixed palette of green, yellow, brown and white. It will retail for $1,480.
The store design uses open space, warm luxurious materials and natural light to establish a contemporary atmosphere. Signature Gucci materials of rosewood and marble are joined by new elements such as ribbed glass, warm polished gold, smoked mirror and smoked bronze glass, in some ways alluding to the Art Deco era. Geometric lines, including stylized examples of Gucci’s signature web stripe, define the internal space.
The boutique showcases a wide assortment of men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, handbags, shoes, jewelry and accessories. It will feature the men’s and women’s fall 2010 collections, including the Gucci 1973 bag, which made its debut on the runway in Milan. The bag is available in a variety of shapes, ranging from a tote to an evening bag, in classic or exotic leathers.
The store has VIP salons in the ready-to-wear and jewelry areas.
The NorthPark Center unit also features the decor of Gucci’s Fifth Avenue flagship and it has a larger selection than the Galleria boutique. The opening was celebrated with a fete for 200 people and an appearance by four Gucci craftsmen, who assembled two handbags near the front door.
“It’s like bringing Italy here,” said Laura Lendrum, president of Gucci America, noting the artisans were visiting six stores in the U.S. and Canada. “We’re doing events like this to underline the beauty and heritage and quality of the brand.”