The long-awaited Paris store of Dover Street Market by Rei Kawakubo and Adrian Joffe will open on May 24. This will be the eighth Dover Street Market flagship store worldwide and is set to breathe new life into the Marais district (35-37, Rue des Francs-Bourgeois, Paris, 75004), where history and modernism intersect.
The new Paris location will utilize the first and second floors and one of three basements of the historic building, which was used as the hôtel de Coulanges between 1627 and 1634. The other two basements and the courtyard will be used to host art, literature, music, and community events. In addition, the third through fifth floors will house a “brand development” department that will support and market approximately 15 emerging brands, including Airei, Erl, Honey F -king Dijon, Liberal Youth Ministry, Olly Shinder, and Phileo.
The store is adjacent to the beauty-focused Dover Street Parfum Market, and will also have a café, Rose Bakery, inside the store. The store will carry a wide variety of items as a multi-brand store, including the COMME des GARCONS collection, approximately 150 avant-garde designers, and selected luxury maisons.
Kawakubo designed the entire store, and its beautiful interior is rich in uniqueness. The sales space has no window display, so the clothes are not visible from the outside. This innovative design, which embodies the “new chaos,” is intended to allow visitors to discover and encounter what they want through the space.
To celebrate the opening, an installation and exhibition titled “Comme des Garcons for and by Paolo Roversi” will be held in the store. Also in the basement is a limited-time “artist-in-residence” installation by British designer Matty Bovan, who will customize T-shirts and make clothes from dead stock fabrics.
Dover Street Market has opened concept stores in major cities such as London, Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles, Beijing, and Singapore. This year, the 20th anniversary of its founding, the addition of a new flagship store in Paris will further expand Kawakubo’s beautiful and innovative world.