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Inside Christian Dior's new London store

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Inside Christian Dior's new London store

By Jo Tweedy
Daily Mail, May 31, 2016

Is it a boutique or an art gallery? Inside Christian Dior's new London store which features silk carpets, VIP salons and sculptures (but not that many clothes)

  • The couture flagship superstore for the super-rich will open its doors on Friday at 160-162 New Bond Street
  • The architect behind the Fashion House's new couture wonderland is celebrated designer Peter Marino
  • Store is modelled on a Parisian hôtel particulier - a French townhouse - and brings together an eclectic mix of styles
  • Private shoppers can retreat to three VIP salons, where their every shopping whim will be attended to
  • Dior is no doubt hoping to capitalise on London's status as a honeypot for the world's richest consumers

There's a new retail temple for London's super-rich to worship at as Christian Dior prepares to open its glitziest store yet in London's Mayfair.

The four-floor palace, set to open its doors on Friday, is likely to prove manna from heaven for the capital's biggest spending consumerists.

In a honeyed building at 160-162 New Bond Street, the House of Dior's latest store pushes the boundaries of boutique shopping with an interior that looks more like a world-beating museum.

It is the design handiwork of celebrated New York architect Peter Marino and boasts a grey stone interior, dramatic abstract sculptures and neo-Louis XVI furniture. Among the artists displaying their work on the walls of this shopping wonderland are Marc Quinn and sculptors Tony Cragg and Rado Kirov.

The House of Dior is effectively a superstore for the super rich and will bring together the company's key offerings including womenswear, jewellery, homeware, perfume and Dior Baby.

The city's male fashionistas will undoubtedly love the Dior Homme boutique on the ground floor which offers a Sur Mesure (made to measure) service.

For those who want to browse without the distraction of other mortals, there are VIP spaces galore including three private salons.

A 'light-drenched stairwell' with gold bannisters will let clients step from department to department in style.

Should one's feet ache from pacing up and down the silk carpets, there's refreshment in the shape of teas inspired by the House’s fragrance collection.

In a statement released on its website, the company explained the influences behind the new boutique, saying: 'Tradition and abstraction combine harmoniously through a mastery of motifs and colours.

'The stone interior is softened with silk carpets and furniture in the neo-Louis XVI style to evoke the atmosphere of a Parisian hôtel particulier.'

The architect behind it, Marino, has a long-standing relationship with the upmarket fashion goliath and received the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture for his work across the globe. Has anyone told them about the English weather? A minimalist display of shades from the new store

To mark the store's opening, Dior has also announced that it has produced a 'limited-edition selection of iconic Lady Dior bags' which carry a floral print bloom by artist Marc Quinn.

The fashion house has long since had a love affair with the UK capital, one that is no doubt bolstered by the city's status as the home of the super-rich, with Middle Eastern clients proving particularly lucrative to luxury brands.

 Christian Dior himself admired English culture and once paid the biggest of compliments to UK women, writing in his memoirs: 'When an English woman is pretty she is prettier than a woman of any other nationality.