FT.com / Style - Hotels develop their own designer boutiques
24/12/2009 09:08
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Hotels develop their own designer boutiques By Lucie Greene Published: December 23 2009 23:43 | Last updated: December 23 2009 23:43
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Luxury resorts are fast becoming one of the best places to satisfy an interest in exclusive retail since a clutch of high-end hotels started to develop their own chic boutiques and initiate a number of designer collaborations. Here are just some. Kanuhura, a hotel in the Maldives, has tapped women’s wear brand Issa by Daniella Helayel and beauty brand Miller Harris to create a range of unique products for its eponymous shop. Beachcomber hotels have teamed up with designer Melissa Odabash on a holiday collection, and will soon be working with the children’s wear designer Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece. And the Hualalai Resort on Big Island in Hawaii has created a $3m fashion store that currently includes branded T-shirts from designer James Perse and an exclusive dress collection from Derek Lam; next season, An Issa kaftan by Daniella Helayel Philosophy by Alberta Ferretti and swimwear brand Eres will design lines. Then there is the One&Only group, which has opened two new-look boutiques at its Capetown and Maldives locations, both offering full ready-to-wear designs from Balenciaga, Marios Schwab, Matthew Williamson, Alice Temperley, Pucci and Missoni. The company also recently collaborated with lifestyle label Acne, shoe designer Christian Louboutin (who conceived a special collection of espadrilles), and celebrity pedicurist Bastien Gonzalez (who designed a red nail polish) on exclusive ranges. Kuoni, meanwhile, has collaborated with British designer Osman Yousefzada to create a travel collection, K by Osman, focused on locally sourced products. Bev Malik, who worked with One&Only on their boutiques, explains the logic behind the trend: “Women and men love to shop on holiday, but you see these awful shops that you don’t want to buy anything from, yet you still visit every day. It’s a captive audience, and resorts are waking up to this. They’re offering fashion, but also product ranges that are exclusive.”
The retail store at the Hualalai Resort in Hawaii
Indeed, cleverly edited fashion boutiques are proving to be a major draw for hotels. Isle de France, a small family-run hotel in St Barts, stocks Juliette Longuet, Lenny, and Tom Ford Sunglasses in its cupboard-size shop, and counts Uma Thurman, Heidi Klum, Daniel Craig and Giorgio Armani among its devotees. Similarly, Mexico’s Los Cabos resorts, including Palmilla and Esperanza, boast multi-brand boutiques that are hot spots for Hollywood stars. “For lots of celebrities, it’s the main reason they choose the resort,” says Malik. After all, shopping away from the
prying eyes of the papparazzi is enticing. Patrick Fitzgerald, Chief Executive of the Hualalai resort, explains the appeal of their own highquality boutique. “It fits with our guest profile. Our clients love good restaurants and good spas but they also love to shop.” As for the designers involved, representation in the resort boutiques gives them access to wealthy consumers, and a brand presence in otherwise unexplored markets. “It’s a great way to access women who like to shop,” says Issa designer Daniella Helayel, who launched her Issa Holiday range at the Kanuhura resort in November (prices from £248). “You strengthen and build the label’s profile as these resorts are visited by an international clientele,” she says. “When you go away to paradise destinations, you’re tanned and super-healthy so you feel much better about yourself. You’re in a much better mood to shop.” www.isledefrance.com www.kanuhura.com www.aubergeresorts.com
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/7f586842-ee81-11de-944c-00144feab49a.html
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FT.com / Style - Hotels develop their own designer boutiques
24/12/2009 09:08 Retail
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The designer experience While some designers dip into resort retail by designing exclusive collections, other brands take a more comprehensive approach, writes Alex Coles. Visit Cape Town for the FIFA World Cup in 2010, for instance, and you can spend your stay at the new Missoni hotel, where the trademark prints of designer Rosita Missoni dominate the interior. If Bulgari is more your style, then a trip to their Bali hotel will provide a backdrop of Italian style fused with Balinese leitmotifs. At the Versace chain of hotels the designer influence is so strong even the linen, rugs and cutlery are branded.
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For a full-on Armani experience, the Giorgio Armani spa, located in the sleek Armani Ginza Tower in Tokyo, cannot be beaten. Its luxury treatments include the three-hour “Armani Ceremony” which promises to purify and regenerate the skin. And, should you feel the need for some shopping after your treatment, a ride in the lift to the fourth floor will transport you effortlessly to the Armani men’s store. Other brands have opted for a more enigmatic style. Take the Hotel Lungarno in Florence. It may not have an obvious brand association but spend a night there and the designer influences – carefully sewn detailing on the leather wardrobe handles for instance – are all apparent. Dig deeper and you discover the hotel is run by Lungarno Alberghi, a management company run by the Ferragamo family. Subtler still is Oasi Zegna, Ermenegildo Zegna’s branding-free eco-tourist retreat in north Piedmont. It offers activities such as mountain bike riding, rock climbing, skiing, and hiking – all to be undertaken, should you so desire, in Zegna’s eco-friendly Oasi cashmere collection developed in the local Zegna factory. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web. Print article
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