Schiaparelli has taken its first steps into China. The Parisian fashion house owned by Italian businessman Diego Della Valle, who is also the boss of the Tod’s group, has debuted in the country by opening a visually striking temporary store in Shanghai. The store, which will remain open until November 6 in the Plaza 66 luxury shopping mall, is shaped like a huge golden keyhole, one of the label’s surrealistic symbols devised by founder Elsa Schiaparelli in the 1930s.
 

The store, with its gleaming structure reminiscent of the hammered gilded brass used by the label for its jewellery, is impossible to miss, having pride of place on the ground floor of the shopping mall’s central hall. Schiaparelli has even organised for “tourist” guides to introduce the Chinese public to its history, offering local customers a genuine immersion in its eccentrically chic, surrealistic world.
 
The pop-up store’s irregularly shaped exterior walls are decorated with trompe l’œil mouths, torsos and ears, neatly fitted with niches showcasing accessories, jewellery, and select items from the recent haute couture collections designed by creative director Daniel Roseberry.

The interiors replicate the plush, artistic atmosphere of the lounges of Schiaparelli’s Parisian headquarters at 21 place Vendôme, decorated with white mouldings, plaster wall-lamps and elegant furniture.

The pop-up store showcases a selection of shoes, leather goods and jewellery as well as a few ready-to-wear items, including couture-style and denim looks, coats, trompe l’œil dresses and knitwear. Select items from the SS24 and AW24 ready-to-wear collections are available for fittings in the shopping mall’s private suite.
 
“This first opus in China is part of our global strategy to extend our international presence, with the same determination to protect the uniqueness and exclusivity of our brand. Few points of sale, but in key destinations and locations,” said Delphine Bellini, CEO of Schiaparelli, in a press release.

 
After expanding in the US, Schiaparelli is keen to reach new markets. The Parisian couture label was quietly relaunched in 2012, adopting a very exclusive high-end positioning. It began to broaden its retail footprint in 2021, opening a first address inside US department store Bergdorf Goodman in New York.
 
It currently operates five permanent stores: the boutique-salon at 21 place Vendôme in Paris, and department store shop-in-shops at Harrods in London, Bergdorf Goodman in New York, and Neiman Marcus in Dallas and Beverly Hills. In addition, Schiaparelli recently opened a pop-up store at Neiman Marcus NorthPark in Dallas, which will be active until January 31 2025.