On 1 May, The French luxury brand Dior, a subsidiary of the LVMH Group, unveiled a new pop-up concept store in Sungsui-dong, Seoul, South Korea. Dior CEO Pietro Beccari bluntly said it was "the next generation of pop-up stores."
Pop-up stores are a popular retail method for luxury brands, which helps brands quickly gather consumers' attention with unique themes, personalized designs that are different from traditional stores, and features such as limited time, limited quantity, and customization. In the "2021 Luxury Brand China Vitality List" of [Gorgeous Think Tank], 29.3% of the luxury brand dynamics are related to pop-up stores. Nowadays, no matter in any country, the iconic pop-up stores created by luxury brands have a global sensational effect, not only becoming a popular punch card in the local area, but also causing widespread discussion on social media.
"From a pure retail perspective, pop-up stores are the most important and priority way to drive innovation and create freshness for consumers." JEAN JACQUES GUIONY, LVMH'S CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, has said so. The newly unveiled Dior concept store in Sungsui-dong, Seoul, South Korea, became the latest bellwether for pop-up stores, and by digging into the details, Gorgeous Chronicles observed three trends in luxury brand pop-up stores:
- From "month" to "year", the opening cycle of pop-up stores is getting longer and longer
- The store is more artistic, and the design pays attention to the integration with the local culture
- Sell limited edition items or offer unique services through pop-up shops
A pop-up shop that is open for up to three years
In terms of footprint and opening hours, Dior's pop-up store is moving closer to a "permanent" store.
Dior's Holy Water Cave Concept Store covers an area of 1,500 square meters and is located in the heart of the Holy Water Cave block, and the entire building is immersed in a lush garden.
Note: Known as the "Brooklyn of Seoul", the Sungsui-dong district has been one of The important industrial bases in Seoul since the 1960s, where dyeing, sewing, and leather shoes have been in decline. In 2005, the South Korean government funded the establishment of a Seoul Forest in the Seosui-dong district, which attracted a lot of popularity in the neighborhood, and since then, a number of high-end apartments, exhibition halls, and cafes have been built here, transforming Seongsui-dong from an old industrial area into an art district.
Dior CEO Pietro Beccari said in an interview with the American media outlet WWD: "For me, luxury is emotion, it is surprise, that is, you suddenly appear in places that people don't expect. Seoul's Sungsuidong district used to be a meatpacking area full of butchers, and while there are many small leather workshops born in the 1800s, there are no luxuries at all, but there are still many young people who come here on weekends. We think this is the place that people don't expect and where we can appear."
The concept store, which looks like a crystal palace, is actually a pop-up store, but it has been open for three years, which is far beyond the time span of traditional pop-up stores with a "month" cycle.
According to Dior's official website, the brand currently has a total of 23 stores in South Korea. It is worth mentioning that Dior's largest flagship store in Asia is also located in Seoul - House of Dior . Opened in June 2015, the flagship store in Seoul's Cheongdam-dong building, with a magnolia petal-like exterior, is a 4,408-square-meter six-storey building created by French architect Christian de Portzamparc and interior designer Peter Marino, and has been a popular landmark in Seoul since its opening.
首尔 House of Dior
From the outside in, integrated with the local culture
The Dior Sacred Water Cave Concept Store was designed by Dior's in-house team, and the building as a whole adopts an open structure, like a "sun room". The façade design is a reference to the design of the flagship store at 30 Avenida Diormonti, which reopened to the public in March this year after more than two years of renovation. (For details, see the historical report of "Magnificent Chronicles":)
But unlike the flagship store at 30 Avenue Montaigne, the exterior of the Holy Water Cave Concept store uses a combination of metal mesh and glass façade to create evenly sized glass blocks that can be gradientd from transparent to completely opaque depending on the light of the day.
Surrounded by lush gardens and paved between the façade and the store, the garden is inspired by French garden style and Korean natural wind, the brand said: "The design of the garden is a tribute to the founder of the brand, Mr. Christian Dior, who loves flowers."
Through the towering façade you can enter the interior of the store, the store occupies only one floor, the space for retail is 600 square meters, and the ceiling beam at the top of the store is mirrored, so that the space is staggered and superimposed, which plays an effect of enlarging the space.
In the central area of the store, Dior has created a wooden cage structure inspired by the skatepark, and it is worth mentioning that on April 30, Dior held the FW22 Autumn/Winter Fashion Show at Ewha Womans University in South Korea, which was the brand's first show in South Korea, and the runway at that time was also a skate park made of wood. This area features the FW22 Fall/Winter collection by Womenswear Creative Director Maria Grazia Chiuri.
To further blend Dior's French flair with local Korean culture, art installations by Korean artists Kwangho Lee and Jeonghwa Seo have been placed in the store. Kwangho Lee designed several armchairs made of polystyrene foam, and Jeonghwa Seo used sedge weaving from Shimo island, South Korea, and basalt from Jeju Island to create product display stands and rest benches.
Above from left to right: Armchair by Korean artist Kwangho Lee and display stand by Jeonghwa Seo
Dior also reinterpreted the brand's iconic Toile de Jouy print on Korean paper in homage to traditional Korean craftsmanship.
In addition to the shopping space, Dior also set up a Café Dior café in the store, and collaborated with d'strict, a well-known digital design company in South Korea, to create a 3D effect on the wall of the café, recreating the rose garden and greenery in the Granville villa where Christian Dior lived in his childhood, providing customers with a poetic escape.
Above: Café Dior
Customized services and limited edition items
Dior Holy Water Cave Concept Store set up a space called "Book Tote Room", where various versions of the Dior Book Tote tote bag are displayed, while providing personalized customization services, customers can add the initials of their names to handbags, it is reported that Dior Holy Water Cave Concept Store is the only store that offers this service.
There is also a handbag area displaying popular handbags including Lady Dior and Saddle Bag.
Above: "Book Tote Room" space
Dior also took the opportunity to sell some limited edition items in the store, according to a dior manager: "The Union collection sold in the store has added the Christian Dior family crest to the design elements, and this series is only available in the Dior Holy Water Cave concept store."
In addition to the above areas, there is also an area called Shoes Paradise, which mainly displays shoes and the Dior Chez Moi home apparel collection.
Above: Dior Chez Moi home apparel collection display area
According to data released by the Korea Financial Supervisory Authority, in 2020, Sales of Christian Dior Couture Korea Co. were 328.5 billion won (about 1.74 billion yuan), an increase of 75.8% year-on-year; net profit increased by 253.4% year-on-year to 77.7 billion won (about 400 million yuan).