The Benefits of High End Architecture For Luxury Retail Brands

If you live in or visit any major city – both in the US and overseas, chances are you will see some pretty incredible buildings that are actually shops or malls. While in the past, the most beautiful buildings tended to be churches, theaters, galleries, and museums, these days, a lot of the work a high profile architect does goes into designing flagship stores and shopping complexes, and the results can be quite breathtaking. Some stores belonging to top end designer fashion houses like Chanel have even won architectural awards for their innovation and beauty.

Of course, hiring a world class architect and creating an amazing building from scratch is a lot more expensive for a brand than simply moving into an existing location, so why do brands like Chanel, Dior, Gucci and Prada want to hire a luxury architect of the likes of Peter Marino to design their flagship stores?

Prestigious Buildings Signify Prestigious Products

One of the things high-end luxury brands sell themselves on is the sense of prestige people get from owning them. Whether it is a suit, a bag, a watch, or simply a bottle of perfume, part of what makes people want high-end goods is the sense that they have been designed by the best people in the world. These products carry with them that sense of exclusivity. By having some of the most beautiful and interesting buildings in a city, a brand can add to its sense of luxury and prestige, which carries over to its products.

Shopping Becomes an Experience

These days, many people shop online and it can be easy to find products from high-end brands for far less from online designer outlets than by going to the stores themselves. However, by having incredible, glamorous buildings that are an experience to visit in themselves, designer retailers can have a good hook to encourage shoppers to visit them and enjoy their customer service, allowing them to see the pleasant experience of shopping in store over buying online. This experience is often worth paying a little more for. Another benefit to making shopping feel like a luxury experience is that it can encourage visitors from other cities into your store, as every city's store is unique.

A Perfect Venue for Collection Launches and Other Events

Another reason brands benefit from having unusual and interesting buildings as their flagship stores is that they make excellent venues for star studded collection launches and other high profile events, where a lot of publicity can be garnered. It is difficult to imagine a glamorous celebrity filled launch at a regular store in a mall. However, at a beautiful building designed by a top architect, these events look a lot more special and can attract a lot more media interest.

It is interesting that commercial buildings, especially high-end shops, have become some of the most attractive and innovative building projects in many major cities, creating some amazing places to visit for fashionistas and architecture fans alike.