Polo Ralph Lauren unveils new store in Paris
by Floor Serbrock posted on April 13, 2010The Boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris has a rich cultural history. Noble town houses sprung up along the 3.5 km arc in the 17th century. As the following two centuries progressed, the boulevard became home to the old aristocracy of the Saint-Germain quarter, as they peeked out of their noble town house windows and looked down upon the rising bourgeoisie of the the Right Bank. The 1930’s saw Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir talk existentialism over a cappuccino, and after WWII the boulevard became the definitive second home to the intellectuals and debauchers of Paris. Continuing to be the gathering points for intellectual and political thought, the cafés remain present on the boulevard, but in addition to this, the boulevard is now also a thriving high-end shopping mecca.
This April, in an old noble town house impeccably restored, Polo Ralph Lauren will unveil its largest store to date on the Boulevard. The hôtel particulier is, naturally, particularly stunning- rich carvings and ornamentations, classical 1600’s French architecture, limestone, French white-oak paneling, “Versailles” style parquet flooring.. In a bid to make sure the reconstruction of the building’s architecture not stray from the original, Ralph Lauren says:
“I wanted to create a unique environment that captures the glamour, culture and the artistic spirit of the Paris that I have fallen in love with. Now, with this store opening, in the most romantic part of the city, I finally feel I have been able to tell my whole story in Paris”.
In addition to the various collections of Ralph Lauren, the 13,000 square-foot space also offers you fine dining in the very first Ralph Lauren restaurant in Europe- “Ralph’s”
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