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After years of speculation, Dover Street Market, the renowned fashion concept store founded by Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons and husband Adrian Joffe, finally opened a new location in Paris. Located in the Marais area, the new store is the 7th location to open over the last 20 years after Tokyo, London, Beijing, New York, Los Angeles and Singapore (not to mention Dover Street Market Parfums opened in Paris in October 2019). Kawakubo and Joffe After took over the building in 2019, but soon after, they decided to wait until the pandemic was over and tourism normalised to open the store. From 2021 to 2023, the gorgeous 17th-century Hôtel de Coulanges (once the house of French writer Madame de Sevigné) temporarily housed a non-profit cultural hub (“le 35-37”, after the street number the building is located at) hosting art exhibitions, fashion shows, temporary fashion markets and art performances. All these events supported the anticipation and excitement around the space opening and secured a break on taxes and rent. After this long delay, the much-anticipated store finally opened to consumers on Friday, 24 May 2024. What can one expect from this latest Dover Street Market family addition? Paris is seen as the fashion capital, but will the store succeed in the long run?

Dover Street Market's Paris location: a unique ecosystem approach

The store spans 1,100 sqm on 3 floors and is centred around a courtyard accessible from the street (rue des Francs-Bourgeois). The store occupies the ground and first floors of the building and parts of the basement. Kawakubo designed the store and said she wanted its design to be a statement in itself, focusing not on selling garments (clothes are not visible from the street, for example) “but rather a space in which shoppers can immerse themselves.” Considering the historical nature of the building, the store is a succession of rooms (some are relatively small). The retail space is genuinely immersive, if not too much of a labyrinth, making it easy to miss parts of the store. The customer journey starts on the ground floor. Then, the staff recommends continuing in the basement on the first floor before ending up in another part of the ground floor.

When exiting the store, customers can seamlessly access other experiential parts immediately accessible through the next-door entrance. More of an ecosystem than a store, Dover Street Market also includes a Rose Bakery coffee shop (as is the case in the other retailer’s locations) with a terrace and 2 different basements (-1 and -2 floors) offering 2 exhibition spaces, making the store a genuinely experiential destination. At the time of the opening, one of the exhibitions was about the Bovan label, and the other showed pictures of the long-time collaboration between Comme des Garçons and photograph Paolo Roversi. That’s not all there is. Not accessible to the customers, the upper floors house the Dover Street Market’s brand development team, offices and various spaces to host events and showrooms for the roaster of brands supported by the company (and sold in the store).

What about the store concept? In many parts of the store, the interior design takes cues from the big white curved furniture and counters that one can find in the Tokyo Aoyama Comme des Garçons store. In other parts (especially in the basement), racks and displays are made of industrial steel poles and tubes, highlighted by coloured neon lights. Very few colours are used besides white, with a baby blue or a light pink wall here and there. Floors alternate raw concrete and old hardwood pavement. The natural light floods almost all parts of the store. Overall, this store does not include the kind of impressive props usually punctuating the other Dover Street Markets locations (such as the gigantic pillar covered in knitwear in the NYC store or the gigantic bugs in the Tokyo store). However, the retailer’s identity is visible. The staff is plenty and reflects the store style.

The challenges and opportunities of independent fashion

Unlike their other locations, Dover Street Market Paris almost exclusively focuses on independent fashion labels under the wholesale business model and does not include global luxury brand concessions. Even though the store business model might consist of consignment deals, this business model makes a big difference in terms of investments and operations. According to CEO Adrian Joffe, small independent designer brands' biggest challenge is the lack of a platform to showcase their work (especially after Matches Fashion collapse). As such, Dover Street Market is an excellent window for these labels.

Brands and products are mixed, with no visible gender, category, or price logic for a customer journey starting on the ground floor, continuing in the basement, on the first floor, before ending up in another part of the ground floor. The result of this unusual mix creates a diverse and refreshing shopping experience. The store houses many brands (the lists below are not exhaustive):

• Ground floor: Comme des Garçons is the first brand upon store entrance. Many of its sub-labels are available (Play, Black, Shirt, Homme Plus, Homme Deux, Girl…) and are to be found on each floor. Other brands are Melitta Baumeister, Junya Watanabe, Noir Kei Ninomiya, Vaquera.
• Basement: Erl, Jacquemus, Online Ceramics , Bovan, Rassvet, Loutre, MM6, Zomer, Kidill, Kartik Research, Human Made, Westfall.
• First floor: Meta Campagna Collective, Bottega Venetta men mixed with Random Identities and Prada men, Walter van Beirendonck, Objet Trouvé, Doublet, Willy Chavarria, Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, JW Anderson, Rick Owens, Lido, Simone Rocha, The Shepherd, Undercover, Bottega Venetta women, Miu Miu and Prada women, Marine Serre, Ponte, Cecilie Bahnsen, Duran Lantink, Sacai, Molly Goddard, Junya Watanabe Man, Jah Jah, Kiko Kostadinov, Eckhaus Latta. The first floor also has a room dedicated to sneakers, which will probably be a key source of revenue.
• Second part of the ground floor: Nicolo Pasqualetti, Wales Bonner, Marc Jacobs, Craig Green, Hed Mayner.

There are almost no brands from the LVMH group (aside from JW Anderson and Marc Jacobs selections) and the Kering group. Among the big global brands, only a short assortment of Prada, Miu Miu, and Bottega Venetta offer luxury products.

This radical approach is indeed a risky bet on independent fashion. Even though prices are not low, the store cannot rely on high-priced Louis Vuitton, Loewe or jewellery products as in other Dover Street Market locations.

Will it work?

Considering the traffic, choosing a location in the Marais seems a safe bet, but it doesn’t come without risks for a retailer like Dover Street Market. The Marais’ reputation is to be a stylish and trendy area. Still, it is now more of another outlet for blockbuster fashion and beauty brands such as Sandro, Maje, Diptyque or Kiehl’s, to name a few, than an area for edgy and independent fashion to thrive. Also, despite tourists flooding the streets and relatively wealthy people living there, luxury brands failed to establish themselves in the neighbourhood, showing the Marais is not the right area for them. Dover Street Market customers are usually luxury fans, so will they be convinced by the assortment?

As said, independent fashion is another risky bet. Once they see how it works, Dover Street Market is said to discontinue around 20 brands from the next buying season to focus on the most successful ones, as it seems obvious that not all of the countless labels will find their audience. On the other hand, Paris misses a concept store like Colette. There is undoubtedly a vacant spot here for Dover Street Market to cater to the Paris fashion crowd. Also, these labels are offering more accessible price points (t-shirts start at €100), so it will be an opportunity for customers to buy a chunk of hype at a low cost.

Professional press and Paris fashion people have gushed about the success of the opening. According to BoF, traffic on the first day was 2,500 people with a 20% conversion rate, generating €75,000 (including Rose Bakery turnover) for a €40,000 budget. The average basket was €150, which seems relatively small for a store like Dover Street Market. Figures on the second trading day (the first Saturday of opening) were not disclosed. The store targets €12 million in revenue in the first full year of trading and aims to reach profitability in the second year at around €15 million. BoF mentioned that previous locations needed 3 to 5 years to break even.

The opening of Dover Street Market in Paris marks a significant addition to the retailer’s global footprint, introducing an immersive retail experience in the historic Marais district. This new location, designed by Rei Kawakubo, emphasizes an ecosystem approach rather than a traditional store layout, incorporating art exhibitions, a Rose Bakery coffee shop, and spaces dedicated to brand development and events. By focusing primarily on independent fashion labels and avoiding reliance on major luxury brands, Dover Street Market Paris offers a distinctive and diverse shopping experience different from other high-end boutiques and department stores in the city. Despite the fashion market challenges and the inherent risks of promoting small designer brands, the initial response has been promising. The store has seen significant foot traffic and sales, reflecting its potential to fill the void left by previous concept stores like Colette. Dover Street Market could become a hub for fashion enthusiasts seeking niche brands and an alternative shopping experience underlined by a true sense of community.

Credits: IADS (Christine Montard)