Fashion Marketing: Contemporary Issues, Second edition - Pr School

The international flagship stores of luxury fashion retailers 291
contribution to the advancement of the business through their development
of a memorable flagship experience. Second, their involvement helps to secure
coverage of the flagship in the ‘quality’ press and among the cognoscenti –
which in turn engenders interest in the company among lucrative target customer
groups. Third, by commissioning a ‘celebrated’ architect, the retailers
benefit from the development of a store design template which, as suggested
previously in this chapter, can be used to direct the design of their other retail
outlets in the home market and abroad.
Flagship store design and positioning
The way in which a flagship store is designed and subsequently looks is
inextricably linked to the luxury retailer’s positioning strategy. For example,
Comme des Garcon assure control of their corporate image through the maintenance
of a strict control regime for their flagship store design. Reflecting
upon their strategy, Davey (1999) suggested that any change in the strategic
positioning of Comme des Garcons is first manifest in the changes to their
flagship store design. For example, with a positioning guided by what Davey
(1999) described as ‘rampant individuality and experiment’, the design of the
company’s flagship store in New York clearly reflects these themes from the
outset: the entrance is a silver tunnel made of aluminium panels which culminates
into a store comprised of bright white, enamelled steel walls. The architects,
Future Systems, have created a store which not only disorientates and
challenges but also entices the customer. These characteristics lie at the heart
of the Comme des Garcons philosophy and it is the architectural language of
the flagship which provides the first clues to their design aesthetic.
It is the role of the architect to understand clearly the strategy, positioning
and image of the luxury fashion retailer and to then interpret and communicate
these core dimensions through their design and materials choice. The
American architect, Peter Marino, who was the first architect to be awarded the
prestigious Master of Design award from the Fashion Group International in
1997, is credited as being the pioneer in the development of the luxury flagship
language. Having designed stores for Valentino, Christian Dior, Giorgio
Armani, Louis Vuitton, Calvin Klein, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Fendi and
Donna Karan, his work recognizes the need for the language of the flagship
store to quickly and efficiently communicate the positioning of the company to
the passing customer.
The mechanics of Marino’s design language is best evidenced in two of his
stores situated on London’s Bond Street. For the younger, urban ready-to-wear
DKNY store, he sought, according to Niesewand (1998) to place a chunk of
New York precinct straight into the very heart of traditional New Bond Street.
Recognizing the DKNY brand positioning to be dynamic, energetic and inextricably
linked to the vibrant values of New York, Marino’s store front interprets
these qualities by being deliberately open and unobstructed – plate glass
is all that distinguishes the street from the store. With an electric white interior,