Valentino has opened a 1,076-square-foot store at Iguatemi São Paulo, the upscale shopping center whose tenants include Chanel, Cartier, Gucci, Prada, Saint Laurent and Ferragamo.
The store, which is Valentino‘s second unit in Sao Paulo, represents a concept developed by the brand’s creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli and British architect David Chipperfield. Valentino operates an existing store in the city at Shopping Cidade Jardim. There are units elsewhere in South America, including Argentina, Chile and Columbia.
During the Aughts, when a newly minted middle class was shopping with gusto, luxury brands flocked to Brazil. However, the pipeline of high-end names slowed in recent years as the economy softened with high interest rates and rising inflation sapping consumers’ spending power.
Related Articles
A new Brazilian president, Michel Temer, took office in May after his protégé, Dilma Rousseff, was removed following her impeachment. Consumer confidence has improved, albeit from record lows. Brazil’s economy is expected to grow a feeble 0.2 percent this year.
You May Also Like
Valentino has been courting Brazilian customers, dressing actress Marina Ruy Barbosa and other celebrities.
With areas for ready-to-wear, accessories and fragrance, the store combines old and new elements into the design. Piccioli and Chipperfield moved away from the traditional store model, using architecture to suggest a palazzo. “This is the idea of a new future that’s not nostalgic, but full of memories,” Piccioli said. “The architecture is designed to complement the pieces on display.”
Piccioli said the São Paulo store design is consistent with the fashion house’s goals of “creating an aesthetic that speaks to today’s consumer, and preserving the traits and identity of the brand, including kindness, grace and elegance.”
Materials such as Palladiana flooring, terrazzo walls, Carrara marble and brass and oak furnishings convey a sense of luxury.
“The new global store concept creates a shared personal atmosphere while maintaining the brand’s fundamental values of craftsmanship, romanticism and classical style,” Piccioli said.