From The Straits Times    |

Photo: Chanel

Luxury fashion fans have a new reason to rejoice – French luxury retailer Chanel’s new standalone ephemeral boutique opens its doors at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) today.

The pop-up boutique – the first of its kind in Singapore – will run until the end of the year and aims to offer consumers a unique shopping experience while the brand’s permanent boutique at MBS shuts its doors for renovation works.

Paris Cosmopolite 2016/17 Metiers d’art, the current ready-to-wear collection that is now on show at the pop-up, is inspired by the Ritz Hotel in Paris and the glamorous cafe culture long associated with the five-star hotel and brand founder Gabrielle Chanel.

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To convey a luxury hotel vibe, the 3,000 sq ft space is divided into four rooms in the image of the elegant salons at the Ritz. The contemporary Art Deco-inspired interior borrows from the brand’s signature palette of black, white and beige.

Later this year, fans of the brand can also look forward to the FW ’17/18 Pre-Collection and FW ’17/18 Ground Control collections on display at the pop-up, with styling and store-window displays changing every season and offering an edgier take on the brand’s classic glamour.

Ms Stephanie Nussmann, managing director of Chanel for Singapore, says: “We wanted the pop-up to not only offer something exciting and unique for our existing customers, but also to encourage new customers, who might not have visited our previous stores.”

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Photo: Chanel

To this end, she says the buying team for Chanel Singapore have been very strategic about the pieces that are being brought in, allowing the pop-up to offer a wider selection of items than usual.

The hope, she says, is to encourage customers to try bold pieces that they might not have picked out while shopping at the regular store.

Similar to other luxury fashion brands such as Gucci and Bottega Veneta, which have recently made strides to offer more personalisation and customisation services at their stores, the newly renovated MBS boutique, which opens in November, has also been designed with the discerning consumer in mind.

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It will be expanded to 9,277 sq ft from its original 6,509 sq ft, with more space dedicated to ready-towear collections. It will also offer a wider assortment of products. The high-end jewellery and watches selection will also be expanded and will include pieces that cost up to $1 million.

Photo: Chanel

Also available in the boutique will be styling services, allowing customers to have personalised experiences for their fashion needs.

“Singaporean consumers like to shop, but they also like to be surprised,” says Ms Nussmann.

“That is our aim with our ephemeral boutique and our new store – we want to continually think out of the box to offer the best client experience to our consumers.”

The Chanel ephemeral boutique is at B1-142 Galleria Level, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, 2 Bayfront Avenue; open: 10.30am to 11pm (Sundays to Thursdays, including public holidays), 10.30am to 11.30pm (Fridays and Saturdays, including eve of public holidays).

This story first appeared on The Straits Times on June 16, 2017.