Fashion brands have become incredibly skilled at extending their reach beyond simply clothing. Limited-edition runway collaborations, art exhibitions, pop-up restaurants, and other creative intersections with art, culture, and food allow them to cross industry boundaries. Shopping becomes more than simply purchasing an item; it becomes an experience, an encounter with a brand’s interpretation of how to live.
Gucci’s bookstore opening in New York has recently become a talking point in the latest round of NYC “must visits.” However, it’s hardly the first luxury brand to open a bookstore. In fact, when these brands venture into publishing and bookselling, they seem to dedicate as much effort as they would to a clothing collection. These are not mere retail token corners; each presents a truly interesting reason to visit.
GUCCI
Gucci first opened its bookstore in SoHo, New York, two weeks ago. It is now part of my New York to-do list. The store is located in a 155-year-old cast-iron building that blends New York industrial with Italian classicism. The green archways, dark-red bookshelves, and traditional reading tables with brightly upholstered sofas create a theatrical setting. Gucci’s iconic prints are positioned against the raw brick walls.
Designed in collaboration with the founder of Dashwood Books, a notoriously enigmatic independent photography bookstore in NYC, the space is memorable. Dashwood’s collection of over 2,000 new and out-of-print titles is truly the centerpiece of the bookstore.
The bookstore has a good collection of progressive photography books, especially by Italian authors, as well as books on fashion, art, design, independent magazines, and Gucci publications. The bookstore also incorporates Wooster Gucci, the brand's previous cultural space right next door. Wooster Gucci has its own cinema that shows experimental films that Gucci's collaborated with artists. There are also limited editions and collaborative collections as well as some DIY customization. It's retail, but more like using the brand's aesthetic as a backdrop for the experience rather than just for a purchase. The bookstore has been such a vibrant space that many more collaborations have come after it, including “Now Here Then,” a collaboration between Gucci and photographer Huger Foote, and looks created by fashion blogger Leandra Medine of “The Man Repeller,” inspired by books found in the Gucci bookstore. Opening a bookstore may seem bold, but Louis Vuitton has gone a step further by opening its own publishing house. The LV Publishing Division, which has been operating for over a decade with more than 80 titles published, includes the best-known “City Guide” series covering 60 countries with a unique approach to travel. Just last month, Louis Vuitton also published “Fashion Eye,” a travel photography collection created with five internationally acclaimed photographers. The online preview was very easy to resist. In the beginning of November, Louis Vuitton opened a pop-up bookstore in the Grand Palais' Escalier d'Honneur. This was during a photography exhibition dedicated to Paris.
In addition to the 2019 version of the "City Guide" which highlighted more favorite spots provided by artists and creatives, the photographers of "Fashion Eye" came to sign their new books.
Ever since the inception of Louis Vuitton, books have held a special importance to the brand. Although Louis Vuitton has never had a standalone bookstore, their flagship stores around the world have allocated space for books. In addition to their own publications, the selection eschews popular bestsellers, instead offering Louis Vuitton’s viewpoint on titles related to fashion, art, lifestyle, and travel. It is a pleasant unexpected surprise that a shopper stops to browse.
ALAIA
A month ago, Alaïa opened the Association Azzedine Alaïa bookstore in the Marais district of Paris. Azzedine Alaïa had long wanted to open a bookstore to share his professional and personal collection with younger audiences. It was a wish that came true on the first anniversary of his death. The bookstore was also meant to become part of the Alaïa museum.
Very little in the small, intimate bookstore is new. The Jean Prouvé shelves, Julian Schnabel’s paintings, and Serge Mouille’s pendant lights are all from Azzedine Alaïa’s collection. As bookstore director Carla Sozzani stated, “Rather than opening a store, we are more like organizing his private collection.”
Along with publications about the brand, the shop has books on the history of fashion and its exhibitions and works on artists and designers that Azzedine Alaïa admired in his lifetime. Visitors can also take home bookstore merchandise.
Postcards featuring the artwork of fashion illustrator Gladys Perint Palmer are especially worth collecting.
The Association Azzedine Alaïa occupies the house where Azzedine Alaïa lived and worked. Besides the newly launched bookstore and a café that will open next January, the gallery has Azzedine Alaïa’s classic works. This is more than a branded bookstore;
it offers an especially close entry to the designer’s universe.
In 2010, Marc Jacobs set up the first Bookmarc bookstore in New York’s West Village. Supposedly, the first location was never part of the idea. Marc Jacobs and partner Robert Duffy found a bookstore they both adored that was about to close, and they bought it.
They broadened the store’s focus to include books on art, photography, and design, and incorporated the very popular Marc Jacobs stationery and T-shirt lines. Leaving the store without making a purchase became almost impossible. Bookmarc developed an ardent customer base and eventually became an independent brand with locations in New York, Tokyo, and Paris, and, for a time, Los Angeles. The Los Angeles location was considered a must-visit on Melrose Avenue; it has now closed.
With Marc Jacobs as the underpinning of the brand, Bookmarc attracted interesting partnerships with artists and other brands. Look for something from the earlier Anna Sui project alongside a more recent scarf collaboration with the slogan-loving House of Holland. Each visit was different.
High-profile guests tended to frequent Bookmarc.
Many celebrities have chosen it for book launching and signing events, possibly making it the most likely to host celebrity sightings. Events have been held there for Grace Coddington, Caroline of \\"How to Be a Parisian,\\" Yoko Ono, and Kendall Jenner. \\
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CLUB MONACO \\
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Club Monaco may not have the same level of prestige as the brands mentioned above, but it has for a long time been one of the most enjoyable to me. Their clothing has a simple and effortless look and that same aesthetic translated beautifully into their lifestyle line. At the brand’s flagship location on Fifth Avenue in New York, the modern, bright, white space is inviting and homey, especially with the “library” that is stocked to the brim. \\
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This clothing store/bookstore hybrid features The Strand, the historic New York bookstore that has been in business for over 90 years and is often regarded as one of the world’s greatest bookstores. The Strand created a custom reading list for Club Monaco that includes titles on art, travel, photography, food and fashion. \\
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The flagship’s shop-in-shop concept also featured one of the most popular city cafés, Toby’s Estates. It was proof that a clothing store could be a place to spend an entire afternoon, not simply a place to make a purchase. \\
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After this journey, it is almost impossible not to want to visit each of these bookstores. \\
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Assistant Editor: Nicole
