PARIS — While some major cities have seen fashionable boutiques migrate to edgy, suburban neighborhoods, Paris’ retail renaissance has taken place smack-dab in the city’s historically chic center.
The Rue Saint-Honoré and its environs — a centuries-old destination for the well-heeled — have welcomed a spate of shop openings, including Helmut Lang, John Galliano and Alberta Ferretti.
Meanwhile, streets adjacent to Saint-Honoré are energized. Vanessa Bruno and shoemaker Roldolphe Menudier recently opened on the Rue de Castiglione, the street linking the Tuileries Gardens to the Place Vendôme. Diane von Furstenberg is preparing her first Paris shop, to open in May, on Rue d’Alger, a stone’s throw from Colette, the concept store that helped ignite interest in the neighborhood.
Related Galleries
Now a major project that will boast 50,000 square feet of renovated retail space on Saint-Honoré is under way. It is being developed by Hammerson and is expected to open in November 2005.
“We plan to have very upscale luxury shops,” said a Hammerson spokeswoman. “We believe the site will be attractive because it’s surrounded by other luxury shops and hotels like the Costes and the Ritz.”
Rue Saint-Honoré has been transforming slowly ever since Colette opened seven years ago along a strip of small mom-and-pop shops and pizzerias. Vacancies were rampant on the street, especially on the lower half east of the Rue de Castiglone. But as Colette’s trendy format began attracting a new breed of hipster to the neighborhood, other shops decided to follow suit.
Realtors say Rue Saint-Honoré has bloomed because it represents a younger glamour than the Faubourg Saint-Honoré, the street’s more traditionally luxurious continuation.
“[Rue] Saint-Honoré is definitely more associated with trendy fashion,” said Jean-Jacques Bertrand, director of the French market for commercial real estate firm August Thouars. “It’s less traditional than the Faubourg Saint-Honoré. It’s more fashion-oriented.”
Prices on Saint-Honoré have risen 30 percent over the last two years, with the average rent per square foot now about $340. Bertrand said major spaces on the street have all but evaporated. “But we’ll see more development of the surrounding streets,” he said.
The last year has been a particularly eventful one on Saint-Honoré, with the majority of remaining vacancies filling up. Retailers say they are attracted to Saint-Honoré for its authentic Paris flavor tempered with a hint of cosmopolitan modernity.
“It is the heart of Paris,” said Alberta Ferretti, who chose Saint-Honoré for her first Paris store. “It’s where fashion, tourism and daily life interlock with each other. I am attracted basically by the contemporary and the cosmopolitan aspect of the area.”
Unlike New York, where the Meatpacking District has begun to bloom, Paris is not known for its far-flung shopping destinations. It would be almost inconceivable for a luxury shop here to open in a gritty neighborhood like Pigalle or in the Bastille. This is because Parisians habitually stick to time-tested neighborhoods, including Saint Germain and the Marais, to do their shopping. Even an avant-garde label like Comme des Garçons, known for plopping shops in unexpected locales, recently opened in a courtyard space on the street’s upscale continuation, the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré — home to Hermès, Christian Lacroix and Versace.
Rue Saint-Honoré has proved attractive because it appeals to Parisians and tourists alike.
“The Parisian clientele [still likes the street] because it’s in the city center,” said Ferretti. “It has charm and history. It’s my idea of French style: feminine, elegant, sensual and modern.”
“My first shop was on the Left Bank,” said Vanessa Bruno, known for her groovy downtown designs. “We get a lot of Parisians on the Left Bank. But on and around Saint-Honoré you really reach a different client. But it’s not only tourists. There are also plenty of Parisians who’ve made it their shopping area of choice.”
Bruno added that the average sale at her Rue de Castiglione shop is greater than the average sale on the Left Bank. “Tourists usually spend more,” she reasoned.
“For me, Saint-Honoré really has a sense of old Paris,” said von Furstenburg. “It’s where I like to go shopping. You have Colette, but you also have great restaurants, the hotels. You’re in the center of everything.”
— Robert Murphy
LONDON — Call it the Off-Broadway factor.
Many fashion and luxury brands are looking beyond the obvious charms of London’s most prestigious — and expensive — shopping venues and are colonizing neighboring streets that offer cheaper rents, better views and the buzz of being part of a work-in-progress.
Bruton Street and Bruton Place, off Bond Street, have attracted young British and European design houses like Stella McCartney, Matthew Williamson, Martin Margiela, Brioni, shoe designer Rupert Sanderson and the fragrance house Miller Harris, all of which are converting former art galleries and showrooms into stores.
Meanwhile, the south end of Sloane Street, near Sloane Square, is playing host to brands such as Tiffany, Pringle, GF Ferré and Chloé — several of which also have flagships on Bond Street and are looking to stake out new territory.
“This is virgin territory for fashion houses, and there’s a real sense of excitement for what this street could become,” said Matthew Williamson, who opened his first stand-alone store at 28 Bruton Street late last month.
Williamson said the cheaper rents on the street meant he could have a bigger, more interesting store. “I could never have done this in a chocolate box on Bond Street,” he said, showing off his rainbow-bright 2,200-square-foot store (see sidebar).
McCartney, the first fashion designer to land on Bruton Street, said it was exciting to move off the beaten track. “Bruton Street is not as predictable and relentless. And it’s near Berkeley Square. I like the idea of being able to see a bit of green from the shop’s windows. It adds to the charm.”
Rents on Bruton Street are approximately $325, or 175 pounds, per square foot per year, compared with $650 to $930, or 350 to 500 pounds, per square foot on Bond Street. On Bruton Place, the mews that runs behind Bruton Street, rents are about 50 percent lower than Bruton Street.
Sanderson, who plans to open a 1,000-square-foot shop — his first in London — at 33 Bruton Place in September, said he loves the new energy.
“I like the fact that it’s not trendy, and I don’t need the razzamatazz of a Sloane Street,” he said. “This place has history, and it has longevity. It’s also where all the real action is taking place.”
Both Bruton Place and Bruton Street were once filled with a cluster of art galleries and showrooms that were paying about half the rent the fashion houses are now committing to. Originally, some of the buildings in Bruton Place were used as stables and still have original features such as delivery hatches for straw and hay that now serve as giant windows.
Both Bruton Street and Bruton Place are privately owned by Berkeley Square Estates, which is eager to woo fashion retailers and luxury brands. “We have a long-term aim to attract innovative, up-and-coming design houses — we’d love to get Marc Jacobs, John Galliano, Ben de Lisi or even a flagship for Burberry Home,” said Martin Thomas, a partner at CWM, retail property consultants of the Berkeley Square Estates.
And there is certainly space to spare.
Thomas said CWM is in advanced discussions to rent the upper floors of the Norman Hartnell building, about 8,000 square feet. The only drawback is that the site is a national monument, and any future tenants will have to live with the late couturier’s mirrors, chandeliers and signage out front. Across the street from Williamson’s store, at 17 Bruton Street, CWM is looking to rent 15,000 to 18,000 square feet that is currently vacant.
“The area is fresher than Bond Street, and it’s more about the English designers,” said Stuart Goldenberg, a senior partner at Goldenberg and Co., an estate agent with offices on Bruton Place. “I think it’s definitely going to be more colorful and vibrant than Bond Street, and it’s certainly a more reasonable place to move if you’re a designer looking to make a profit.”
Like Bruton Street, the southern end of Sloane Street is relying on its discreet charms and cheaper rents to attract big-name tenants.
“That end of Sloane Street has been evolving naturally,” said Stuart Corbyn, chief executive of Cadogan Estates, which owns and manages some 90 acres of central London property, including most of the east side of Sloane Street and part of the King’s Road. Cadogan Estates began refurbishing the buildings on the lower end of Sloane Street some three years ago.
“At the start, we really weren’t thinking about getting fashion or luxury houses in there, we just wanted to make the buildings look as good as possible. It was the retailers who first approached us,” Corbyn said.
Cadogan also keeps a close eye on the street’s image: “For years now, we haven’t allowed shops to light their stores at night, because we knew it would upset the residents,” Corbyn said. “No flags or banners are allowed either. We don’t want that street festooned with junk.”
He added that over the past three or four years, rents on the southern end of the street have doubled. Prices now average about $560, or 300 pounds, per square foot per year, compared with $840, or 450 pounds, per square foot on the Knightsbridge end of Sloane Street.
Tiffany opened a 4,200-square-foot store, its fourth in London, at 145 Sloane Street on Friday. “For us, Bond Street is like Fifth Avenue, while this part of Sloane Street is like Madison Avenue,” said Fernanda Kellogg, senior vice president at Tiffany & Co. “We also see this location as a gateway to Sloane Square and a store for local clientele.”
Other stores on the street include Chloé, Pringle, Jo Malone, Hackett, Thomas Pink and Maria Grachvogel.
“We’re getting fewer tourists, and more wealthy residents. And while there is less footfall than Bond Street, the customers who are coming in are spending more and need more service,” said Bill Christie, retail director at Pringle.
Indeed, Corbyn said, Cadogan is using Pringle and Tiffany as a yardstick by which to measure future tenants. “We want names that are as good a quality as they are, and ones that will be complementary, too,” he said.
— Samantha Conti
MILAN — If you’re in a shop-’til-you-drop mood but want to stay away from Milan’s chichi “golden triangle,” the central neighborhood that houses the world’s top designer boutiques, then scoot over to the funky Corso Como area, which is on the upswing.
A five-minute cab drive from the heart of Milan, the district’s attraction revolves around the Corso Como street — located at number 10 is Carla Sozzani’s trailblazing fashion store, but other venues gaining momentum are Corso Garibaldi, just across Piazza XXV Aprile, the Isola area, Via Pasubio, Via Maroncelli and Via de Cristoforis.
“Milan can’t just live off the chic golden triangle area. Corso Como is more bohemian, it’s our Saint-Germain,” said Francesco Piro, the owner of three high-end apparel stores called la Boule de Neige. La Boule de Neige has two women’s stores; one carries designer brands such as Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, Narciso Rodriguez, Edmundo Castillo, Jimmy Choo and Christian Loboutin, while the other is dedicated to a private-label collection. A third, for men’s wear, will open in September.
“Corso Como is a small salon, and it’s a shopping haven for locals and foreigners seeking niche products that go against the mainstream,” said Donatella Martire, the owner of Sadogy, a clothing store that carries avant-garde French, Japanese, Spanish and Italian brands.
With a round-the-clock bustle that derives from quirky clothing shops, accessories and jewelry stores, art galleries, hip restaurants — Le Langhe is Tom Ford’s favorite — and the Hollywood disco club, Corso Como is an attraction for both tourists and the Milanese, including such high-profile types as Donatella Versace and Giorgio Armani, who are regulars at chez Princi, a sleek and modern bakery that opened in the area, where they buy olive bread and warm croissants, respectively.
Other stores in the area are La Boule de Neige, Anteprima, Oz, Lucifer Vir Honestus for funky jewels, the A+B sneaker store, Eral 55 for men’s wear, Sadogy and Isabella Tonchi.
But most other retailers agreed that Sozzani’s store, opened in 1990, has been pivotal in the area’s recent growth.
“Sozzani’s store is a main attraction for locals and foreigners, and it made sense for us to invest in this neighborhood,” said Piro.
The store is housed in the courtyard of an old-style palazzo, where rows of cylindrical vases of ivy, jasmine and camellias act as sentinels down the cobblestone entryway. Also on site are a Zen-style cafe that serves anything from grappa to green tea with toasted nuts and fresh mint, a hip art gallery and 3Rooms, a quaint bed-and-breakfast.
Sozzani, who was the first to carry such brands as Prada and Martin Margiela in the early Nineties, said, “When I arrived here, the street was filled with tiny, family-run shops that sold electrical equipment, groceries and metal utensils. We all knew one another. My goal was to turn it into a destination for shoppers, and I think that with lots of hard work I succeeded. Now it’s a lively neighborhood.”
Further raising the charm bar is the fact that last September the street was blocked off to traffic. Architect Silvia Volpi used white granite tiles, circular burnished steel fountains, gneiss stone walls and flower beds for the makeover.
“Corso Como is coveted and adorable because it’s so strategic. If anything, the challenge is that it’s such a short road, so there isn’t much availability,” said Antonio Soccol, communications manager for real estate company Fim-Fabbrica Italiana della Mediazione, referring to the 492-foot-long street.
Soccol noted that, depending on the location, annual store rents vary from $53,000, or 43,000 euros, for a 972-square-foot space with two windows and an 810-square-foot warehouse to $44,885, or 37,200 euros, for 1,188 square feet with three windows.
Adding panache to the area is the $615 million, or 500 million euro, Città della Moda project, which will redevelop a 1.19 million-square-foot area around Corso Como that has been neglected for the past 50 years over political and bureaucratic controversies. Hines Italia is building a hotel, offices, a space for exhibitions and fashion shows, and residences over the next five years.
“Our challenge is to link together a variety of areas while respecting their different cultures, architectures and traditions,” said Manfredi Catella, managing director of Hines Italia.
“Corso Como will be extended, because the idea is to divert the traffic of one of the major roads underground,” said Beatrice Trussardi, chairman of the namesake fashion company and vice president of the Fondazione Città della Moda.
Rossella Colombari, a fourth-generation antiques dealer, recently moved her gallery from the “touristy” Brera neighborhood to the recently revamped Corso Como area, which she considers “trendy, new and young.”
“ This is the city’s second center after Via Montenapoleone,” said Colombari.
— By Alessandra Ilari with contributions from Chiara Hughes and Priscilla Mark.