VOGUE GERMANY’S NEW CONCEPT: Store, that is. The German fashion magazine went brick-and-mortar Tuesday night with the first Vogue pop-up store in Metzingen Outlet City. Adding a new dimension to editor in chief Christiane Arp’s unflagging support of the nation’s emerging design talents, the 1,000-square-foot space houses a curated selection from former participants in the young designer showcase Vogue Salon. These include William Fan, Marina Hoermanseder, Dawid Tomaszewski and Lika Mimika. The assortment will also be augmented by wares from more established German brands including Talbot Runhof, Iris von Arnim and Zazi Vintage.
While Condé Nast Germany has staged a number of in-store collaborations with leading German retailers such as KaDeWe and Breuninger, this is the publisher’s first independent retail endeavor. Slated for a five-month run until April, the cleanly designed space makes use of any number of interactive and augmented reality features. Via their smartphones, for example, customers can access information about the designers and their creations, hear personal messages from the creators or view their runway shows.
Above all, the store offers underexposed designers a promising sales platform, while providing the outlet’s domestic and international visitors a chance to discover collections they’ve never seen or even heard of. For a voguish cherry on the cake, the pop-up stocks Vogue logo tops, sweatshirts and the latest issue of Vogue Germany.
In some ways, the pop-up “continues in the footsteps of Fashion’s Night Out,” Arp told WWD. “It gives a brand like Vogue an opportunity to make fashion come alive and meet our readers.” For the designers, she continued, it’s a way to build awareness for their brands while also selling off last season merchandise.
Asked if Metzingen is a one-off, Arp said she “could imagine doing this format elsewhere.”