The House of Dior on New Bond Street is indeed a paean to grey. Fifty shades? More like five hundred, washed over four floors and a winter garden that's filled with trellises of jasmine. Dashes of pink come in Baby Dior's bee-printed wallpaper, and turquoise in the light installations that illuminate the stately staircase. Add to that specially commissioned art, including sculptures by Tony Cragg and Rado Kirov; a collaboration with artist, Mark Quinn, comprising a collection of handbags featuring his work; three private VIP shopping areas; a demi-measure floor for Dior Homme; a dedicated shoe gallery; and endless, giant, squashy silver sofas, and you've got a retail temple that speaks of inordinate wealth, and invites those possessed of it to partake in the party.
No expense has been spared, according to Sidney Toledano, chief executive of Dior, who oversaw the four-year-long project. "People, they see a lot of things," he told Vogue on Tuesday morning. "They don't come here just to buy a dress, or to buy a bag. Frankly, if it was just a commodity, then you have the internet, fast retailing, so-called see-now, buy-now, things like that - but we give luxury." He gestures at the plushy sofa into which we are currently sinking. "The real deal is time. Time to sit on the sofa, time to talk with people. The young generation, whether they are 15, 18, 20, they want everything fast. But maturity is giving meaning to time. Time is dreaming. We give the ability to the people to have a moment of dreaming."
A hands-on retail expert, 64-year-old Toledano has been known to rearrange entire floors in Dior stores prior to their opening. Furthermore, for him, the internet is merely a medium by which to direct clients through the front door. "You cannot, so far, on a two-dimensional screen, get - yes, you get information and you can make appointments, but it's a matter of directing people to the house. Face-to-face, the seduction is different - so far."
Financial results suggest he is correct. Having been made president and chief executive of Dior in 1998, he has overseen a period of unprecedented expansion at the brand with the opening of 200 new stores. The latest figures record $41.6 billion in sales, $1.7 billion in profit. All this, despite a vacant head designer role, what with Raf Simons's resignation in October last year. Customers, it seems, still buy, even if the fashion press is gagging for a successor.
"The clients are not saying, 'I'm not buying this because I don't know the name of the designer'," says Toledano, when pressed for news. "They buy it because they like it. Because it's Dior. And that is the result of several designers' work, not one. It's not only Raf, not only John before, not only Monsieur Dior, it is the work of all of them. Because we have those designers; so we can afford to wait."
A hands-on retail expert, 64-year-old Toledano has been known to rearrange entire floors in Dior stores prior to their opening. Furthermore, for him, the internet is merely a medium by which to direct clients through the front door. "You cannot, so far, on a two-dimensional screen, get - yes, you get information and you can make appointments, but it's a matter of directing people to the house. Face-to-face, the seduction is different - so far."
Financial results suggest he is correct. Having been made president and chief executive of Dior in 1998, he has overseen a period of unprecedented expansion at the brand with the opening of 200 new stores. The latest figures record $41.6 billion in sales, $1.7 billion in profit. All this, despite a vacant head designer role, what with Raf Simons's resignation in October last year. Customers, it seems, still buy, even if the fashion press is gagging for a successor.
"The clients are not saying, 'I'm not buying this because I don't know the name of the designer'," says Toledano, when pressed for news. "They buy it because they like it. Because it's Dior. And that is the result of several designers' work, not one. It's not only Raf, not only John before, not only Monsieur Dior, it is the work of all of them. Because we have those designers; so we can afford to wait."
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