- Luxury fashion brands have been opening restaurants around the world.
- The move may help brands appeal to millennials and Gen Z, who increasingly value experiences over things.
- Here are six brands that have opened restaurants in the US, Europe, and Asia.
In 1999, when designer Ralph Lauren opened his first restaurant concept in Chicago, industry analysts noted it was a novel concept but wondered about the wisdom of the brand getting into the notoriously challenging restaurant business.
Twenty-five years later, RL is still open, sitting right next door to the largest Ralph Lauren store in the world. In fact, Ralph Lauren’s restaurant arm has only expanded. Meanwhile, other luxury brands have followed in his footsteps and opened their own restaurants and cafes.
Getting into the restaurant business could be a way for fashion brands to appeal more to millennials and Gen Z, who increasingly value experiences over things.
Osmud Rahman, an associate professor at the Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Fashion told the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail that brands could use restaurants to appeal to consumers who otherwise can’t afford their physical products.
“It’s affordable luxury,” Rahman said. The restaurants aren’t exactly cheap, but they may still be accessible in a way that a $3,000 handbag isn’t.
Here are six luxury brands that have opened restaurants around the world.
Ralph Lauren
After the success of RL on Chicago’s Michigan Ave., Ralph Lauren opened its first coffee shop, Ralph’s Coffee, in New York City in 2014. Today, Ralph’s Coffee has multiple New York locations and has expanded to Chicago, Miami, Virginia, and several European and Asian countries.
Ralph Lauren opened what’s perhaps its most well-known restaurant, The Polo Bar, in New York in 2015. Since opening near the brand’s Fifth Avenue flagship, the stylish space has attracted celebrities and fashion icons. Ralph Lauren also has restaurants in Milan, Paris, and Chengdu, China.
Coach
In March, Coach opened its first-ever restaurant, called The Coach Restaurant, in Jakarta, Indonesia. The restaurant is located in Jakarta’s Grand Indonesia Mall and is next door to a Coach store. The brand also opened The Coach Coffee Shop, which is also attached to the store.
Both concepts are inspired by New York City. The restaurant is inspired by a New York steakhouse and literally has an upside yellow taxi cab coming out of the ceiling while the coffee shop serves pizza slices.
Louis Vuitton
In 2020, Louis Vuitton opened its first restaurant, Le Café V, inside the French fashion house’s four-story location in Osaka, Japan. The brand opened a second location in Tokyo in 2021, in its seven-story flagship in Ginza.
Louis Vuitton opened a stand-alone restaurant — not attached to one of its stores — in Saint Tropez in 2022, on the terrace at the White 1921 Hotel. In 2023, the fashion house brought on a three-Michelin-starred chef, Arnaud Donckele, and pastry chef, Maxime Frédéric, to lead the restaurant.
The brand also opened Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton, a cafe and chocolate shop, in Paris in 2022 at LV Dream, an exhibit and gift store.
In March, Louis Vuitton launched LV The Place Bangkok in Thailand, which includes an exhibition of the brand’s history, a store, a cafe, and a fine-dining restaurant.
Dior
Dior has several Cafe Dior locations in Europe, the US and Asia, including in Seoul, Paris, and Miami, as well as one at the Kansai International Airport in Japan. Dior also has the Mediterranean restaurant Dior des Lices in Saint Tropez.
At its Paris flagship, the French luxury fashion house has La Pâtisserie Dior and the restaurant Monsieur Dior. Dior has also announced plans to open another Monsieur Dior location in Japan in 2025, led by Anne-Sophie Pic, known for receiving the most Michelin stars of any female chef.
Gucci
Gucci opened its first restaurant, Gucci Osteria, in Florence, Italy, in 2018 in partnership with Massimo Bottura, the Italian restaurateur and chef at Osteria Francescana, a three-Michelin-star restaurant consistently ranked among the best in the world.
The Italian fashion house opened a US location of Gucci Osteria in Beverly Hills in 2020, and also has locations in Tokyo and Seoul.
The Florence, Beverly Hills, and Tokyo locations have all earned a Michelin star.
Tiffany & Co.
Tiffany & Co. opened the Petrossian at Tiffany restaurant in partnership with the caviar brand in 2022 at South Coast Plaza, a high-end shopping mall in Costa Mesa, California. The restaurant’s focus is Champagne and caviar.
The American luxury jewelry brand also has the Blue Box Cafe by Michillen-star chef Daniel Boulud, located at Tiffany’s flagship store on 5th Avenue in New York City.
The brand also has The Tiffany Blue Box Cafe at the luxury department store Harrods in London.
Read the full article here
