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    Balenciaga opens tinted-glass couture store beneath historic Paris atelier

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    Fashion house Balenciaga has opened a couture store with smoked-glass-panelled walls in the same building as its original couture salon in Paris.

    The store is located beneath Balenciaga’s historic atelier at 10 Avenue George V, which was recently renovated to exactly replicate the interior of the original couture salon that was first opened in 1937.
    The interior of the store was clad in tinted glass”The newly renovated space at 10 Avenue George V is dedicated to preserving Balenciaga’s heritage in its original couture location, first opened in 1937, as well as creating a couture for today,” said the brand.
    The design of the store beneath the couture salon was created by long-time Balenciaga collaborator Sub, a Berlin-based architecture studio that was founded by Niklas Bildstein Zaar and Andrea Faraguna.
    The store is located in the same building as Balenciaga’s original couture salonThe boutique’s exterior is marked by oversized serif Balenciaga signage, a nod to Balenciaga’s 20th-century branding that also forms a distinction from the narrow, sans serif typeface that currently identifies the brand.

    Beneath the signage, four arched openings frame swooping curtains that are given a golden hue by the brown-tinted glazing.
    Grey curtains zone spaces throughout the storeThe interior of the couture store echoes Balenciaga’s raw architecture concept, which was applied internationally across the interior of its stores, but this edition has been clad in panels of tinted glass instead of concrete.
    Between the unfinished but glass-clad walls, ash-hued curtains conceal carpeted areas while wrinkled-leather ottomans were placed throughout the two-storey store.

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    Wrought iron balustrades and a curving marble staircase, with glass panelling slotted around it, hint at the building’s history and the former decor and interior scheme of the atelier above.
    “The concept of the couture store is a gateway to couture, which remains a very closed universe, especially for new generations,” said Balenciaga CEO Cédric Charbit.
    Remnants of the store’s history were incorporated into the design”In this new store, products, made-to-measure services and retail excellence are a reinvention of the Balenciaga client experience,” said Charbit.
    “It is exciting to be able to present this level of craft, creativity and made-in-France savoir-faire in our historical address.”
    Balenciaga’s couture atelier is located above the storeMetal shelving was decorated with couture items, ranging from artisanal to technological, from the brand’s most recent Autumn Winter 2022 couture show.
    Items on display include its speaker bag, which was created in collaboration with Danish audio brand, Bang & Olufsen.
    Earlier in 2022, Balenciaga wrapped its Mount Street store in London in a bright pink faux fur to celebrate its Le Cagole bag.
    Photography is courtesy of Balenciaga.

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      Balenciaga wraps London store in pink faux fur to celebrate its Le Cagole “it-bag”

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      Fashion brand Balenciaga has transformed its Mount Street store in London, creating a maximalist look to launch its Le Cagole collection by blanketing the interior in bright pink faux fur.

      To celebrate its popular Le Cagole bag, which references Balenciaga’s maximalist It Bags of the past, and launch the line’s collection of accessories and shoes, the entire interior of the store has been covered in fur.
      Balenciaga’s Mount Street store was lined in faux furThe brand removed its accessories, ready-to-wear collections and permanent shelving from the store and installed temporary, metal fixtures – taken from the brand’s previous projects and installations – throughout.
      Balenciaga wrapped these temporary fixtures and displays in a fluffy, bright pink faux fur chosen for its maximalist look to tie with the Le Cagole bag identity.
      Pink faux fur was used across the walls, floors and surfaces”The line, which now includes multiple bags, wallet, and shoe styles, reinvents Balenciaga codes in the tradition of maximalist It Bags of another era,” said Balenciaga.

      “Le Cagole pop-ups are in keeping with this spirit, covered entirely with bright pink fake fur. Shelves, displays, floors, seating, and even racks in the open-plan kiosks are lined in pink.”
      Le Cagole bags were placed across the fur-lined temporary displaysThe Le Cagole, which Vogue has dubbed the “new it-bag”, was designed by Balenciaga’s creative director Demna, who reinvented one of the house’s most iconic bags – the Balenciaga Motorcycle bag.
      First released in 2001 by Nicholas Ghesquiere, who led a 15-year tenure as creative director at the house from 1997 to 2012, the Motorcycle bag quickly became a staple of the 2000s.

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      Demna’s Le Cagole collection, which was first launched as a collection of handbags, has now extended into a number of different bags, shoes and purses. It takes its name from French slang that refers to an “over-the-top attitude”.
      The pieces employ the same detailing, hardware and rivets as Ghesquiere’s 2001 Motorcycle bag, which have been applied across a number of accessories including knee-high stiletto boots, mini-purses and oversized rhinestone-embellished handbags.
      The fur-lined Le Cagole pop-up is open at Balenciaga’s Mount Street store in London from April through until June 2022.
      The pop-up offers limited edition bagsBalenciaga told Dezeen that the metal fixtures and displays would be reused for future projects, and it is looking into ways in which the fur can be repurposed and reused in different contexts.
      “Each Le Cagole pop-up fixture base was made of reused metal from previous projects. After the faux fur is removed, the metal will be reused again for future projects,” it said.
      “We are currently researching the best way in which we can donate the faux fur so that it can be reused in manufacturing toys, for example.”
      The pop-up is open until JuneFor the fashion brand’s Autumn Winter 2022 collection, the house created a “snow globe” where models walked the runway in a blizzard as a comment on both the climate crisis and the Ukraine war.
      In late 2021, Balenciaga renovated its flagship store in London and debuted its “raw architecture” store aesthetic.
      Photos are courtesy of Balenciaga.

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