Gucci has launched its first ultra-luxe Salon store concept in L.A., complete with fresh-off-the-red-carpet gowns.
The 4,380-square-foot space is at the prime corner of Melrose Place and Melrose Avenue in an ivy-covered building that for years was occupied by Marc Jacobs. He first put the sleepy, leafy street of antique dealers on the luxury fashion map when he opened his store there in 2005, leading to the arrival of Bottega Veneta, Balmain, Chloé, Oscar de la Renta, Marni, Golden Goose and many more on what’s become one of L.A.’s toniest commercial thoroughfares. There’s even a Caviar Kaspia now.
The giant Gucci billboard on top lends visibility to the brand for anyone driving by. But the Gucci Salon is not open to just anyone — only to top-tier clients and only by appointment.
Although the brand would not share Salon prices, François-Henri Pinault, chairman and CEO of Gucci parent Kering, told analysts in an earnings call in February the range would go from about 40,000 euros ($43,000) to more than 3 million euros.
“While ‘salon’ is a French word, it has Italian meaning from the 18th century — a Florentine idea, really, from the Renaissance, and the Medici court, a gathering of interesting people passionate about beauty. The beauty of art, of an idea, and of fashion because salons were, among so many things, laboratories of ideas,” Marco Bizzarri, president and CEO, Gucci, mused in an email.
“Salons engendered a sense of community, of debate and common enjoyment of life’s beautiful things, of new trends and ideas. The Gucci Salon concept is therefore the ultimate playground for our community to explore the most extraordinary possibilities of Gucci’s Italian craft, and to interact with us creatively.”
The Salons are meant to demonstrate the most elevated product and craft, including made-to-order collections for men and women, accessories, luggage, decor, and high jewelry and watches. Also featured will be rare and exclusive vintage pieces that have been restored by Gucci artisans.
The L.A. Salon is surrounded by windows tinted so clients can see out, but prying eyes can’t see in. Private appointments can be booked for two, three or four hours, or all day, and there will a special menu on offer from the Gucci Osteria restaurant on Rodeo Drive. Red carpet fittings can also be done in the space.
The interior was created by award-winning Hollywood production designer and longtime Gucci campaign set designer Gideon Ponte, who has worked with the brand since the Tom Ford days, and designed such films as “American Psycho” and “Buffalo 66.”
With antique and contemporary pieces, some sourced by Ponte’s film industry vendors, the Salon is meant to evoke an old Hollywood movie set with mirrored columns, proscenium-like curtains, chandeliers and a theatrical looking dressing room with red and purple velvet stripe walls and vanity mirror lights.
Center stage is a display of the house’s recent red carpet looks, including the custom silver crystal and sequin embroidered gown worn by Jessica Chastain at last month’s Academy Awards; the strapless gown with black vinyl, crystal embroidered bustier and canary yellow ostrich feather skirt worn by Jodie Turner Smith to the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, and the crystal fringe column worn by Dakota Johnson at the Venice Film Festival in 2021.
The couture-like Salon collection includes a sweeping kimono dressing gown conjuring Gloria Swanson in “Sunset Boulevard”; tweed suiting with crystal over-embroidery; drama capes, and velvet tailoring.
The racks can be easily removed so the store can also be reconfigured as a fine jewelry or watch salon, for example.
Lacquered 19th century Chinese chests brim with high jewelry, including diamond, emerald and sapphire chokers and cuffs. Clients can order bespoke accessories, too. There are exotic-skin Diana bags and $43,000 crystal Teddy Bear bags, while a full set of green leather Gucci luggage, including a trunk and hat bags, references house founder Guccio Gucci, who established the Florentine house after working at The Savoy hotel in London.
There will be nine permanent and temporary Salons opening in New York, Paris, Milan, London, Dubai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei and Tokyo, each with its own collection of product.
Gucci’s focus on the wealthiest shoppers is part of its turnaround strategy after sales fell 14% in the last three months of 2022, dragged down by COVID-19 lockdowns in China and a declining desire for its fashion in the U.S.
The Italian luxury brand is in a transition period, having parted ways with its longtime creative director Alessandro Michele in November. His successor Sabato De Sarno, previously a designer at Valentino, will debut his first women’s collection in September during Milan Fashion Week.
Gucci has had the Melrose space since spring 2022, when it introduced a Gucci Adidas pop-up there.
The Old Hollywood aesthetic and maximalist evening wear are in keeping with Michele’s vision for the brand; he forged strong ties with celebrities including Harry Styles, Elton John and Jared Leto, and showed his Love Parade runway collection on Hollywood Boulevard in November 2021.
But Gucci’s legacy of offering an ultra-luxe shopping experience to L.A. predates him — by a long time.
Aldo Gucci, son of brand founder Guccio Gucci, inaugurated an ultra-luxurious space called Gucci Galleria above the brand’s Beverly Hills boutique on Rodeo Drive in 1977.
“I am going against the current, instead of stepping down, I want everyone to step up,” Aldo Gucci told WWD at the October 1977 opening party and fashion show for the Galleria, where lore has it there was a live tiger as part of the entertainment, and the luxe goods available included a black leather handbag with a detachable 18-karat gold chain and diamond buckle that could be worn as a necklace.
“It was a singular and distinct space from the main boutique, located on a separate floor, accessible by a private key,” Bizzarri said of the Galleria. “So where else should we open our first Salon if not here in L.A? Set against the backdrop of Hollywood — and speaking of Melrose in particular — that has for decades been a vital center of L.A. cool.”
“My team and I pulled a lot of research. We looked at Gucci stores, from the first to today. There’s a clip online of the exterior of the Galleria in the ’70s,” said Ponte. “The trick was trying to figure out how this space should feel; I wanted to design a gate that harked back to Old Hollywood, a gift to the street, something beautiful, there’s a buzzer, with a ‘By Appointment’ sign. This is a transitional moment; walking through it you get to enter the atelier. I guess because I come from filmmaking, I think of space in a way of storytelling, shots and transitions.”
On the earnings call, Pinault characterized the Salons as the latest step in Gucci’s product elevation drive, with its average selling price rising double-digits last year. He said, “We are not just waiting for Sabato to arrive.”
This story was reported by WWD and originally appeared on WWD.com.
