Paris is the home of luxury retail. Its streets are brimming with fashion and art, from the most famous to the most secretive. Each of Paris’s luxury boutiques has its own story for you to discover on your own or with the help of a local personal shopper. A perfect opportunity to discover the great French brands and their collections in their original setting.
Paris, the home of luxury brands and fashion icons
Chanel on Rue Cambon in the 1st arrondissement of Paris
Chanel’s legendary boutique. The very first one that Gabrielle, aka Coco, chose for her hat boutique in 1910. Conveniently located between Place Vendôme and Rue Saint-Honoré. It was here that the fashion empire for women “liberated from clothing constraints” flourished. The acquisition of several landmark buildings on Rue Cambon helped create the legendary Chanel experience.
Today, their luxury boutiques in Paris cover several thousand square metres, from 19 to 31 Rue Cambon. They play host to fashion shows, celebrity fittings and everyday customers alike, in settings draped in Lesage fabrics and adorned with Carrara marble. All orchestrated by the famous architect of luxury brands: Peter Marino.
Discover exclusive Chanel products, including the legendary N°5 perfume and fine leather goods. As well as jewellery and, of course, the brand’s haute couture line.
Guerlain, the town house at 68 Avenue des Champs-Elysées in Paris
Guerlain opened its first luxury boutique in Paris in 1828 at 75 Rue de Rivoli. This came after the creation of its iconic bee bottle in homage to Empress Eugénie, which has become the symbol of Guerlain. The perfume maker then moved to the Champs-Elysées in 1914. The town house became a Monument Historique, and Peter Marino redesigned the premises in 2013.
Women know that when they walk through the door, they will find their very own Institut Guerlain, which is the purest expression of French elegance. The skincare and make-up methods used are based on an original, holistic approach to their daily lives.
They will leave feeling a million dollars, perfumed with l’Heure Bleue, Shalimar or Acqua Allegoria mist.
A truly unmissable experience in Parisian luxury shopping.
Cartier, “13 Paix”, in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris
The temple. This is what the Cartier family called the magnificent black-fronted boutique at 13 Rue de la Paix. Cartier today is not the same Cartier it was when it first opened in 1899. Despite its timelessness and its confident, elegant design. The brand has transformed its flagship boutique many times.
Today, lovers of fine jewellery and watchmaking will find sparkling, beautifully sculpted precious stones and hand-worked leathers on six floors.
On the 5th floor, a select few will have access to the workshops. Here, the world’s most precise craftsmen cut diamonds, rubies and emeralds, and set ingenious movements that sit discreetly on the skin.
As for future brides and grooms, the entire first floor is dedicated to them. When you buy your wedding rings at Cartier, you become part of Louis’ family. You become part of the company.
The experience begins at the shop entrance, continues with exclusive event invitations reserved for customers, and never ends. Cartier is building a love story that lasts a lifetime and is passed down from generation to generation.
Cartier represents a prestigious, upmarket, French heritage.
Louis Vuitton: its heart is in the west…of Paris
The iconic brand has stores in all the capital’s luxury shopping hotspots. Under its own name, on Avenue Montaigne, Avenue des Champs-Elysées, Place Vendôme, Saint-Germain-des-Prés in the unmissable 7th arrondissement of Paris. In corner stores in the boulevard Haussmann department stores, Galeries Lafayette and Printemps, at the Samaritaine on Rue de la Monnaie, and at the Bon Marché on Rue de Sèvres.
Known for its breathtaking annual window displays, which are museum-like, theatrical settings reproduced in luxury boutiques in Paris and around the world, the brand finds a new way to embody luxury with each collection.
Rarely have we seen such agility, such an ability to adapt to new concepts and new fashion trends. Vuitton has succeeded in entering the men’s fashion market with a musical, ethnic approach, and is establishing itself alongside Gucci and Balenciaga in these sought-after segments.
If you want to immerse yourself in the history of Louis Vuitton, or visit the workshops to place an order for a personalised bag, Asnières, at the western edge of Paris (the most chic), is the place to go.
Christian Dior’s legacy of Parisian elegance
Dior was not always successful. Challenged by a father who insisted on a political career, its creator did not come to fashion straight away. He began by drawing sketches, since his close circle was made up of artists such as Cocteau. He started out as a gallery owner, accumulating paintings that could have made him a fortune had the Great Depression not come along.
It was at this point that he sold everything and started again from scratch, but in fashion. He was responsible for designing the women’s silhouettes of the 1950s, with their wasp waists and mid-calf flared dresses.
It was the femininity that everyone was looking for after the Second World War.
Success followed in 1946 with the opening of his boutique on Avenue Montaigne: 30 Montaigne. The legendary 10,000 m2 space, which he called the “refuge of the marvellous”, reopened after 2 years of renovation work.
Although he died too young, his genius was carried on by designers such as Yves Saint Laurent.
Our luxurious French brands and their luxury boutiques in Paris have made a lasting impression on the history of the capital, as well as on the eras and souls that appreciate beauty.
