Next week sees the opening of the eighth, and smallest, Dover Street Market store in a courtyard tucked away in Paris’s irresistible Marais district. The store marks the coming together of two retail pioneers - Adrian Joffe, co-founder and president of Dover Street Market, and Carla Sozzani, a former editor and gallerist and the founder of 10 Corso Como.
This is one of those collaborations that, as soon as I heard about it, just made me smile.
When I first went to 10 Corso Cosmo, back in 1990- I nearly spent a whole month’s salary. A book lovingly published by Sozzani as an ode to Walter Albini. Her emerging brand called No Name, presented with as much care as you would a piece of art. All of it deeply personal and beautifully considered.
But the reason I parted with a month’s rent wasn’t just what I found there – it’s how I felt there. As soon as I walked through the doors, I was seduced. And by the time I left, I was in love.
Corso Cosmo wasn’t a shop, a concept store, a curator. None of these words do it justice. It was, and remains, entirely in its own league. A magnetic union of fashion and design, retail and culture. The ultimate People Experience (PX) as we call it at Portas.
And now, years later, here we are. DSM X Carla Sozzoni feels inevitable. A collaboration between two people who truly and innately understand how to create an experience through collaboration – not just to ‘wrap’ product, but as a physical creative genre in and of itself. Mark our words - this is the next creative frontier.
As we all know, where luxury goes the rest follow. And the opportunity to create such awe and wonder in the physical space is now wide open to the mass market. So the big question is - why wouldn’t they do this?
Just think about this for a minute. Don’t we all want to feel wonderful and inspired when we shop in the physical space? Why should this only be the remit of luxury?
We really would love to hear what you think. So, my next question is - what brands do we think could pick up the mantle? Comment below…
#beautifulbusiness
