Although Paris was initially considered too bourgeois as a location for Rei Kawakubo‘s brilliantly forward Dover Street Market store concept, the Comme des Garçons doyenne and her business and life partner Adrian Joffe eventually changed their mind, leading to tomorrow’s official opening of Dover Street Market Paris, the brand’s hotly anticipated eight outpost. Sure, the City of Lights got a pre-taster of sorts with the inauguration of Dover Street Parfums Market in 2019 and Dover Street Little Market two years later, but this is the real deal. Mid-2022 the latter retail concept relocated to Hôtel de Coulanges, a historic 17th-century building in the Marais district which had already become home to 3537, a new retail and cultural entity, and also a talent hotbed if you ask us, managed by the highly influential Comme des Garçons brand.

And now, the imposing aforementioned structure has become home to Dover Street Market Paris. The store occupies no less than 1,100 sqm. (11,840 sq.ft.) spread across three floors, and features an interior design by creative director Rei Kawakubo. Interestingly, and in contrast with all other Dover Street Market stores across the planet, this new outpost doesn’t feature dedicated brand spaces or concessions, but still has a myriad of differently designed settings. Mind you, the nature of the design lends itself to a kaleidoscopic voyage of discovery. Dover Street Market Paris offers a new trajectory for the iconic store concept, given the fact that it pairs an existing and rather grand historic building with a new creative direction.

Currently, the basement hosts an installation by London-based designer Matty Bovan (on through Jun 6), while especially for the opening, another installation by renowned Italian photographer Paolo Roversi, aptly entitled Comme des Garçons for and by Paolo Roversi, can also been seen on the premises (on through Jun 27). Similar to all other Dover Street Market outposts across the planet, a Rose Bakery café occupies a cozy nook with a lovely courtyard terrace where to chill and indulge in coffee and bites in between shopping sprees. The brand list of Dover Street Market Paris remains impressive, featuring a slew of tightly curated brands, among which some even exclusive to France, including Comme des Garçons, obviously, but also Willy Chavarria, Rick Owens, Niccolò Pasqualetti, Simone Rocha, Bottega Veneta and Wales Bonner. © superfuture

Images © Comme des Garçons