Chanel takes its summer quarters in the heart of Saint-Tropez

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A staple of summer pop-ups in the mythical city of Var since 2009, Chanel is nevertheless changing location due to redevelopment work. After fourteen seasons in the private mansion of La Mistralée, the House of Rue Cambon has temporarily moved to a typical Provencal farmhouse in the heart of Saint-Tropez village.

 

A new temporary Provencal location

 

The Mistralée mansion, located just a stone’s throw from the Old Port and the famous Place des Lices, is a historical anchor for Chanel. The Parisian luxury brand has designed it “like a vacation home” with a park and swimming pool.

 

However, this privileged space, which has been home to its pop store – since the launch of its operation in 2009 – as well as to its founder Gabrielle Chanel, is temporarily abandoned this summer due to redevelopment work. Chanel is looking to create a basement for its boutique, accessible to people with reduced mobility (PRM) at the back of the building.

 

©Chanel, drawing by Karl Lagerfeld of the concept of La Mistralée, 2012

 

Since April 8, 2023, the Parisian luxury House has thus opened its ephemeral outlet in another sumptuous setting: an authentic Provencal farmhouse.

 

Located on Place de la Croix de Fer, this large 340-square-meter building with ochre stone and blue shutters was renovated in 2019.

 

Chanel imagined the space as a real holiday home.  The spaces open onto a shaded garden in a purely Mediterranean spirit. Clients are welcomed in the building’s vast vestibule, which is articulated on two levels and includes multiple lounges dedicated to the Chanel universe.

 

The House has not forgotten to apply its identity codes to the interior decoration in small touches. Thus, numerous stained-glass windows punctuate the visit to the pop-up store, a reference to those the founder spent part of her childhood in the Aubazzine Abbey. The dominant black and white, the materials, and the atmosphere are also a true ode to the spirit of Coco Chanel.

 

©Chanel

 

Chanel presents the ready-to-wear and accessories collections and pre-collections designed by Virginie Viard. In addition, there is a selection of jewelry, watches, and perfumes. The Coco Beach line is also included with a selection of swimwear, beach accessories, and sunglasses. A line that its Tropezian clientele will be able to discover in the preview from May, while the 2022-2023 CHANEL Dakar Métiers d’art collection will be presented later in the season.

 

Chanel, pioneer of summer pop-up stores

 

The House on rue Cambon was the first to open a seasonal pop-up store in Saint-Tropez in 2009.

 

Before 2009, luxury brands mainly used the concept of pop-up stores as part of classic commercial events such as a product launch or inter-brand collaboration (drop).

 

Chanel introduced a new pretext: seasonality. In its wake, other luxury brands followed in Saint-Tropez with more or less ephemeral concepts for the summer season, such as Louis Vuitton, Dior, Hermès, Fendi, Lanvin, Bottega Veneta, and recently Balenciaga.

 

This was followed by a great struggle by the major players in the luxury industry to obtain exceptional locations in the arteries of this golden triangle of the tropics with the Place de la Garonne and Rue François Sibilli, even though space is scarce and new constructions are prohibited.

 

Since then, in addition to Saint-Tropez, the double-C brand has opened pop stores in other dream coastal destinations such as Capri and Portofino in Italy or Bodrum in southwest Turkey.

 

©Chanel

 

The summer period appears to be an ideal time to capture luxury customers in a more relaxed setting: their vacation spot. It is also a good time to offer new ranges of products and accessories, less timeless and more seasonal.

 

The advantage of the pop-up store is its limited duration, which creates a sense of urgency in the customer and encourages impulse buying.

 

Since then, brands have also understood that offering exclusive product lines would likely increase store traffic. Thus, in 2018, Chanel launched its Coco Beach line, offering accessories related to the beach and seaside world.

 

Add to this the fact that the deployment of a pop-up store allows for testing an innovative concept or a market at a lower cost to set up a permanent store eventually.

 

This is precisely what the House of Dior has done with the opening in 2021 of its Dior des Lices restaurants, located in the gardens of the former tourist embassy. Louis Vuitton is also following this approach with the opening in 2022 of its first restaurant in collaboration with the starred chef Mory Sacko.

 

Saint-Tropez, the other city of light

 

Since the arrival of the impressionists (Paul Signac in 1892 and Pierre Bonnard in 1909) and Brigitte Bardot in the 1960s, the seaside town has always generated a halo effect on holidaymakers from all over the world, seduced by its light and colors as well as its gentle way of life, typical of the French Riviera.

 

So much so that every summer, the small fishing port with 3,600 residents in 2020 vibrates to the rhythm of nearly 80,000 tourists every day, or 5 million visitors over the year! A figure that remains stable from year to year.

 

And after two years under COVID constraints, 2022 was a good vintage thanks to the return of American tourists. And this despite a late start to the season due to the weather, floods in June and the soccer World Cup.

 

According to data from Var Matin, 5 nations generate 48% of foreign tourists: 19% come from Germany, 10% from the United States, 10% from the United Kingdom, and 9% from the Netherlands. The Dutch, the Swiss, and the Americans recorded the best increases, respectively +104%, +71%, and +66%.

 

©Saint Tropez

 

However, the destination, renowned for its nightlife, mega yachts, prestigious real estate, and hotel offer, is increasingly competing with its Mediterranean neighbors, namely Marbella (Spain), Ibiza (Balearic Islands), and the ports of Sardinia. Still associated with an image that is too bling for some, Saint Tropez is now seeking to give itself a more cultural endorsement in order to stretch its tourist season into the low season.

 

It has partly succeeded in doing so with its annual luxury yacht race, Les Voiles de Saint Tropez. This event attracts between 50,000 and 80,000 visitors per day each year.

 

A major challenge remains for the Var town, loved by the painter Dunoyer de Segonzac, to continue to attract a high-end clientele without becoming elitist. After all, the Côte d’Azur, which is increasingly challenged by the less showy Basque coast, remains the second most popular destination for luxury brands in France, behind Paris.

 

Read also > Chanel takes a stake in the investment bank Rothschild

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A staple of summer pop-ups in the mythical city of Var since 2009, Chanel is nevertheless changing location due to redevelopment work. After fourteen seasons in the private mansion of La Mistralée, the House of Rue Cambon has temporarily moved to a typical Provencal farmhouse in the heart of Saint-Tropez village.

 

A new temporary Provencal location

 

The Mistralée mansion, located just a stone’s throw from the Old Port and the famous Place des Lices, is a historical anchor for Chanel. The Parisian luxury brand has designed it “like a vacation home” with a park and swimming pool.

 

However, this privileged space, which has been home to its pop store – since the launch of its operation in 2009 – as well as to its founder Gabrielle Chanel, is temporarily abandoned this summer due to redevelopment work. Chanel is looking to create a basement for its boutique, accessible to people with reduced mobility (PRM) at the back of the building.

 

©Chanel, drawing by Karl Lagerfeld of the concept of La Mistralée, 2012

 

Since April 8, 2023, the Parisian luxury House has thus opened its ephemeral outlet in another sumptuous setting: an authentic Provencal farmhouse.

 

Located on Place de la Croix de Fer, this large 340-square-meter building with ochre stone and blue shutters was renovated in 2019.

 

Chanel imagined the space as a real holiday home.  The spaces open onto a shaded garden in a purely Mediterranean spirit. Clients are welcomed in the building’s vast vestibule, which is articulated on two levels and includes multiple lounges dedicated to the Chanel universe.

 

The House has not forgotten to apply its identity codes to the interior decoration in small touches. Thus, numerous stained-glass windows punctuate the visit to the pop-up store, a reference to those the founder spent part of her childhood in the Aubazzine Abbey. The dominant black and white, the materials, and the atmosphere are also a true ode to the spirit of Coco Chanel.

 

©Chanel

 

Chanel presents the ready-to-wear and accessories collections and pre-collections designed by Virginie Viard. In addition, there is a selection of jewelry, watches, and perfumes. The Coco Beach line is also included with a selection of swimwear, beach accessories, and sunglasses. A line that its Tropezian clientele will be able to discover in the preview from May, while the 2022-2023 CHANEL Dakar Métiers d’art collection will be presented later in the season.

 

Chanel, pioneer of summer pop-up stores

 

The House on rue Cambon was the first to open a seasonal pop-up store in Saint-Tropez in 2009.

 

Before 2009, luxury brands mainly used the concept of pop-up stores as part of classic commercial events such as a product launch or inter-brand collaboration (drop).

 

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A staple of summer pop-ups in the mythical city of Var since 2009, Chanel is nevertheless changing location due to redevelopment work. After fourteen seasons in the private mansion of La Mistralée, the House of Rue Cambon has temporarily moved to a typical Provencal farmhouse in the heart of Saint-Tropez village.

 

A new temporary Provencal location

 

The Mistralée mansion, located just a stone’s throw from the Old Port and the famous Place des Lices, is a historical anchor for Chanel. The Parisian luxury brand has designed it “like a vacation home” with a park and swimming pool.

 

However, this privileged space, which has been home to its pop store – since the launch of its operation in 2009 – as well as to its founder Gabrielle Chanel, is temporarily abandoned this summer due to redevelopment work. Chanel is looking to create a basement for its boutique, accessible to people with reduced mobility (PRM) at the back of the building.

 

©Chanel, drawing by Karl Lagerfeld of the concept of La Mistralée, 2012

 

Since April 8, 2023, the Parisian luxury House has thus opened its ephemeral outlet in another sumptuous setting: an authentic Provencal farmhouse.

 

Located on Place de la Croix de Fer, this large 340-square-meter building with ochre stone and blue shutters was renovated in 2019.

 

Chanel imagined the space as a real holiday home.  The spaces open onto a shaded garden in a purely Mediterranean spirit. Clients are welcomed in the building’s vast vestibule, which is articulated on two levels and includes multiple lounges dedicated to the Chanel universe.

 

The House has not forgotten to apply its identity codes to the interior decoration in small touches. Thus, numerous stained-glass windows punctuate the visit to the pop-up store, a reference to those the founder spent part of her childhood in the Aubazzine Abbey. The dominant black and white, the materials, and the atmosphere are also a true ode to the spirit of Coco Chanel.

 

©Chanel

 

Chanel presents the ready-to-wear and accessories collections and pre-collections designed by Virginie Viard. In addition, there is a selection of jewelry, watches, and perfumes. The Coco Beach line is also included with a selection of swimwear, beach accessories, and sunglasses. A line that its Tropezian clientele will be able to discover in the preview from May, while the 2022-2023 CHANEL Dakar Métiers d’art collection will be presented later in the season.

 

Chanel, pioneer of summer pop-up stores

 

The House on rue Cambon was the first to open a seasonal pop-up store in Saint-Tropez in 2009.

 

Before 2009, luxury brands mainly used the concept of pop-up stores as part of classic commercial events such as a product launch or inter-brand collaboration (drop).

 

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Victor Gosselin
Victor Gosselin is a journalist specializing in luxury, HR, tech, retail, and editorial consulting. A graduate of EIML Paris, he has been working in the luxury industry for 9 years. Fond of fashion, Asia, history, and long format, this ex-Welcome To The Jungle and Time To Disrupt likes to analyze the news from a sociological and cultural angle.

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