Galeries Lafayette, known for its grand flagship on Boulevard Haussmann, has now opened a smaller sister-store in an Art Deco building smack in the middle of the Champs-Elysées, neighboring high-end stores like Dior and also fast food like McDonalds. The new store is meant to elevate the appeal of a street so often avoided by locals and give the department store a new smart shopping experience thanks to a variety of techie upgrades.
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Galeries Lafayette has a family history of over 125 years, but this newest addition reinvents the traditional store model. The idea behind the store is to transform the relationship between the store, the brands, and the patrons, making the navigation between them as seamless as possible. As a result, clothes are not hung in groups based on what stock is available but rather displayed singularly side by side with other clothing on smart racks that will tell you what’s in stock and send your size to the fitting room. The fitting rooms, unlike in most stores, are displayed right in front of the store without being tucked away in some faraway corner. The store also offers a personal stylist app to facilitate arranging consultations with the store’s 300 certified stylists before arrival.
Compared to the original store on Boulevard Haussmann, the new space is much smaller, taking up over just 70,000 square feet. Surprisingly the store does not have a single window, instead exclusively using glass boxes, many containing items exhibition-style, for a source of light and atmosphere. Both the size and lighting create extra intimacy and the sense of embarking on a rather personal style journey; it’s the anti-department store shopping experience in a department store.
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As traditional shopping experiences are growing outdated, the new concept is also banking on a hybrid fashion and culinary scene where restaurants cross paths with clothes. Jacquemus‘ and Kaviar Caspia‘s Citron café and Oursin restaurant take all the attention here offering a one of a kind collaboration between designer and chef. Here you can expect a lemon themed dessert and tons of other Southern France delicacies like tarte tropézienne. Citron will transport you directly to the Côte d’Azur, and just in time as this summer’s trends will be very Riviera influenced.
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The food doesn’t end there as the basement level is a luxury grocery store featuring goods from Brûlerie de Belleville, Chic des Plantes, Chocolat des Français, and Fou de Patisserie. Finish your shopping experience with a stop here at the pastry corner for one of Pierre Marcolini and Alain Ducasse’s vegan treats.
Galeries Lafayette Champs-Elysées is located at 60 avenue des Champs-Elysées, 75008 Paris
