Luxury Rental at Paris Fashion Week

While AW’19 moves to Paris, luxury retailers are seizing the opportunity to roll out engaging initiatives for consumers ready to buy. Le Bon Marché, among others, launched a fresh pop-up experience with luxury rental and styling platform Armarium. It offers consumers and fashion week goers the opportunity to rent SS’19 pieces from labels like Erdem, Haider Ackermann and Paco Rabanne.

Last year, Allied Market Research reported that the clothing rental market is growing, and is expected to be worth a staggering USD$1.9 billion by 2023. After a successful retail partnership with Browns in London last year, this is Armarium’s first foray into the French market – an expansion which cements a rising interest for conscious consumerism.

“Our goal is to engage European clientele and introduce them to the sharing economy via luxury fashion,” said Armarium’s chief executive Trisha Gregory in an official press release. “But we also aim to bring our online experience to life with white glove tech and services that will change the way customers architect their wardrobes.”

To enhance the rental process, the pop-up features advanced technology powered by ORDRE, including life-size touchscreens with 360º image technology which give shoppers the chance to view designer collections in intricate detail. Additionally, ORDRE is providing customers with VR headsets to grant them front-row seats at some of the runway shows, offering yet another immersive layer and reimagining the traditional retail experience.

Le Bon Marché is not the only one exploring immersive technologies to elevate its offering: Hong Kong’s luxury retail giant I.T. brings its on-going 30th anniversary pop-up to the city. Featuring digital payment kiosks and shoppable touchscreens, consumers can purchase exclusive capsule collections from over 100 luxury brands, like Simone Rocha and Helmut Lang.

Galeries Lafayette, on the other hand, is focusing this season’s retail opportunity on promoting emerging South Korean designers to the Parisian market. In partnership with Seoul Design Foundation, it launched a pop-up showcasing ten of South Korea’s current leading labels including D-antidote, Münn and Pushbutton – all of whom will be taking part in Seoul Fashion Week in March.

In order to generate buzz and leverage commercial opportunities during the city’s busiest fashion period, retailers need to adopt innovative strategies – Le Bon Marche is leading by example with its foray into exciting partnerships and technologies which can enhance the retail experience and bring something fresh to the table.

Armarium’s physical pop-up experience will run at Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche through the month until April 22nd, while 10Soul at Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann is open until March 18th.

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