PARIS — Italian brand Pomandère chose Paris to open its first stand-alone store and unveiled it Thursday, timed to the city’s fashion week.
Carlo Zanuso, who launched the label in 2008, zeroed in on a space in 26 Rue Saint-Sulpice, in the Saint-Germain district on the Left Bank, and worked with architect Andrea Tognon on the minimal yet warm interior concept.
Asked about the choice of first opening a store abroad rather than in Italy, Zanuso said there were two reasons: First, the prominence of the French capital fashion-wise, and then its role in the Pomandère business, since it’s a key market for the brand, which generates 70 percent of its revenues outside Italy. In 2023, Pomandère reported about 7 million euros in sales.
The 807-square-foot store follows in the footsteps of a physical test the brand did three years ago, when it opened a corner at the Galeries Lafayette Haussmann department store. The feedback has been positive ever since, and the corner is still running.
An outpost in Paris will also enable the brand to be closer and better serve its primary customers, who hail from Belgium, Northern Europe and the Scandinavian markets, in addition to France. Yet Zanuso underscored that the opening is not part of a wider retail rollout, but rather a move to set down roots and enhance brand awareness.
“It’s also a personal goal and achievement. It’s more a source of pride, to see that we’ve been able to plant our first flag while being such an artisanal reality and a company that wants to stay true to its DNA, which is the most important thing,” said Zanuso.
The understated refinement of the brand is reflected in the interior space, which combines both Zanuso’s and Tognon’s sensibilities.
“Tognon has curated many retail projects, especially the retail spaces of Jil Sander and Celine in the past, prior to their current creative directions,” said Zanuso. “We’ve found a good balance between his contemporary and modern taste and my wish to still have a warm and welcoming environment.”
To this end, the duo recovered vintage textiles from the ‘30s and ‘40s hailing from Eastern Europe and repurposed them to cover most of the walls. Mainly combining hemp and linen in neutral tones, the subtle patchwork matched the natural textures and color palette Zanuso deploys for the brand’s collections.
“Then I wanted something that could speak of our own identity and territory,” said Zanuso about the ceramic artwork standing in the middle of the space and doubling as display. The founder explained it was the result of the handmade work of artisans based near the company in Vicenza, in Italy’s Veneto region, and renowned for their ceramic homeware production.
The exclusive artwork contrasts with more industrial elements, like aluminum lighting, satin steel furniture and raw brass details. Nestled in the back of the store, the fitting room area is marked by a different hue of tobacco felt, which plays off of the apparel collections.
The store adds to Pomandère’s global distribution network of 400 multibrand stockists, 300 of which are located outside of Italy. The brand also has clients in South Korea and China, where sales are steadily increasing. Pomandère’s e-commerce site accounts for 15 percent of total sales.
Pomandère started from a key garment, the shirt, as Zanuso’s parents owned a company that specialized in manufacturing the item in an artisanal way. In the first collections, Zanuso turned shirts into dresses, imbuing an androgynous vibe into the pieces.
Along with the expansion of ready-to-wear, the brand gradually explored other product categories. In 2016 it introduced home scents, while with the spring 2023 collection it ventured into eyewear. All designed and manufactured in Italy, the sunglasses style had a dedicated display at the Parisian store.
