Dolce & Gabbana begins major renovation of its Paris stores

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Jul 25, 2019

Dolce & Gabbana is reinventing its Parisian presence. The in-depth overhaul of the Italian luxury label’s directly owned stores is proceeding at great pace, as Dolce & Gabbana creates boutiques that are ‘tailor-made’ to the context of the cities where they are located. The project began in 2016, with the inauguration of the label’s via Montenapoleone store in Milan, revamped by interior designer Gwenael Nicolas, and is now continuing in Paris.

The renovation work involves the three Dolce & Gabbana stores in Paris, at 54 avenue Montaigne, and at 3 and 3/5 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. All three of them have been closed, and a temporary shop has opened, for the duration of the renovation, at 39 rue François 1er, in the 8th arrondissement. The stores are scheduled to reopen in 2020.

To cover the façade of the imposing avenue Montaigne building during the works, designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana decided to launch a competition among the students of the Parsons Paris fashion school. The winning team’s entry - a design of a façade in each of whose windows the various areas of expertise of the label can be glimpsed (tailoring, selling, modelling etc.) - will be reproduced on a huge sheet covering the building’s front.

The avenue Montaigne shop was opened in 2007, and showcases Dolce & Gabbana’s womenswear collections. The renovation also includes an enlargement of the retail area, and has been commissioned to French architect Julien Rousseau, of the Fresh Architectures studio, the latest star architect invited by Dolce & Gabbana to rethink its stores around the world, from London to New York to Saint-Barth.

No details about the project have been revealed yet, but in an interview published on the Dolce & Gabbana website, Rousseau said he wants to create “a thrillingly entertaining venue, full of exciting collages. ‘Paris is a party’, as Hemingway said! It’s the ideal place for blending classicism and chaos, using boisterous, timeless elements.”

Rousseau added that “Dolce & Gabbana is like a complex orchestral piece with far-reaching roots, susceptible of multiple interpretations. The new Parisian store will reveal our vision of the label’s multi-faceted identity, highlighting emotions and experiences.”

Dolce & Gabbana is also busy renovating its two stores on rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. The one located at number 3, entirely dedicated to womenswear, was inaugurated in 2016, next door to the menswear store opened at number 3/5 in 2005.

The renovation has been commissioned to Eric Carlson of Parisian architecture studio Carbondale. Carlson has been tapped several times in the past by Dolce & Gabbana to upgrade its retail premises. He notably oversaw the renovation of the Dolce & Gabbana shops in Venice and Monte Carlo, and in 2019 that of the stores in Piazza di Spagna in Rome and via della Spiga in Milan.