MILAN — Consistent with its bullish expansion plan — and now backed by the Italian private equity Made in Italy Fund, managed by Quadrivio and Pambianco — streetwear brand GCDS is opening more stores in China, a country that has been on the company’s agenda since the beginning.
The brand is to open three new units in the Asian country, two located in Shanghai and one in Beijing, which will be directly operated.
GCDS already counts doors in both cities, as well as five flagships in Chengdu, Chongqing, Nanjing, Shenzhen and Xi’an, opened over the years in partnership with entrepreneur Adrian Cheng’s Luxba Group.
“We continue to believe that an online and digital identity is key, but not enough. We’re committed to building a brick-and-mortar identity, too, to offer our customers the right experience and telegraph the brand’s ethos,” said Giordano Calza, the company’s cofounder and chief executive officer.
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Detailing his plans for the APAC region in an interview with WWD last year, Calza had shared his commitment to address the Chinese market directly given the following the brand has garnered in the county.
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The directly operated Beijing unit covers 1,184 square feet and is located inside premium department store China World Mall in the Central Business District. In keeping with the flamboyant and Kawaii-inspired aesthetics of the brand, the unit boasts metallic curtains and colorful displays and furniture including a claw crane machine.
In Shanghai both units are located inside malls and cover 1,184 square feet and 2,152 square feet, respectively. The former, on the second floor of the IAPM shopping mall, features ice-colored flooring and metallic details, as well as a life-size sand sculpture of the hero Matilda bag. The second unit is bowing at the Shanghai Village Outlet and is decorated with a giant reproduction of a shark’s jaw.
Since its launch in 2015, GCDS’ fun fashion creations, runway extravaganzas and pop-tinged aesthetics have gained a cult following in the country, which holds a special place for brothers Giuliano and Giordano Calza, both of whom have lived there.
“In this country I was able to broaden my horizons, shaping my creativity and discovering the Chinese culture and traditions that continue to inspire me in my daily work,” said Giuliano Calza, who holds the creative director title.
Overall, the brand operates 14 stores globally, including flagships in Rome and London and at Hong Kong’s K11. It recently ran a temporary pop-up on Milan’s Via Sant’Andrea during the holiday season, which bowed in tandem with the launch of the GCDS x Bratz collection of dolls.