News Unveiling a new concept imagined by architect Peter Marino, the Hublot store at 10, Place Vendôme reflects the brand’s incredible growth in the world’s great centres of luxury shopping.
Inaugurated on the evening of the 14th June 2011 in the presence of Alain Delon, the President of the Place Vendôme committee Béatrice de Plinval and Hublot CEO Jean-Claude Biver, with a Swiss-themed ambiance of cows, fondue, Alpine horns, Swiss wine and Gruyère double cream meringues, 10 Place Vendôme is an exceptional location, set on two levels, at the heart of the world's luxury sector, reinforcing the brand's position as one of the sector's biggest players.
Under Jean-Claude Biver leadership, 35 Hublot boutiques have opened in four years. Symbolically, Hublot chose Paris, the world capital of fashion and luxury, to open its first boutique in 2007, still located at 226 Rue Saint-Honoré. Ever since, momentum has continuel to build. In the last three months, boutique openings took place in Beverly Hills (Los Angeles), Ginza (Tokyo), Madison Avenue (New York), Bal Harbour (Miami), and New Bond Street (London).
Set on two levels, in an area totalling 180 square metres, the boutique has reinterpreted the concept of fusion dear to the brand, but with new combinations of materials such as bronze, natural buckskin or ebony to convey a warm yet hushed atmosphere. Art is also an integral part of the design, with the high ceiling, extending up to 6 metres, displaying a monumental canvas created by the Swiss materials artist John M. Armleder. The furnishings are also designer, with lamps created by Peter Marino's favourite artists, Dupré-Lafon vintage chairs and the ramp to the mezzanine covered in a handmade fabric of metal and synthetic fibres.
The innovative and technological touch dear to Hublot is represented by an unprecedented new large Raptor table, the spatial motors which enable to view a watch from all angles, and special LCG glass which finely embellish the watch showcases on the walls. This touch is also represented by the spectacular Hublot sphere. Developed with Xavier Dietlin, it was designed to turn a ring around itself 30 times a second underneath a glass bell jar. The speed is so great that the human eye cannot detect it; but the watch placed in the centre can be seen. Thanks to the information being sent at a rate of 11,200 signals per second to the LEDs positioned around the ring, the watch appears to be levitating in the middle of projected space age images!
At the entrance, to welcome the clientele, a wall of monitors, guided from Switzerland, is able to directly retransmit Hublot events from across the world, alongside High Definition multimedia content. The Video Broadcast system allows media and a standard playlist to be loaded up from the headquarters in Switzerland, whilst leaving the boutique in charge thanks to a touch-screen tablet - the Panel Designer - which controls the content library. This makes it very easy to adapt the wall of monitors to the store's own news, and content which suits its visitor profiles and busiest hours. The Vendôme boutique is piloting this new concept which will be rolled out gradually across the entire network of Hublot boutiques.
July 05, 2011
