The luxury french Department store PRINTEMPS, reveals this week their incoming partnership with PRADA for the next Christmas season. With a different theme every year, we are always impressed by the original parti-pris that the french department store evokes during the holiday season. And this year, the theme is called “Noël, Joyeuse Obsession by Prada”. In french it means, “Christmas, a happy Obsession by Prada”.
Le Printemps, Luxury temple in Paris
Since 2006, Le Printemps changed a lot, or let’s say it evolved a lot towards a certain image of the new century luxury. With the purchase by Borleti group from PPR, the french department store got into another league. More luxury, more edgy and more modern than any other parisian department store. The level is so high that Printemps can compete agains a Sak’s 5th Avenue in New York, Takashimaya in Tokyo or even Harrod’s in London. With a sales figures over 1 BillionUS$, Printemps became a jewel on modern parisian elegance. And after 6 years, the Borleti group sold it to Qatar. We assume that the financial transaction will be beneficial to the Department store. Here are some key figures:
- 20 million visitors per year
- 8 million people visit the animated windows for Christmas (from mid-November to end of December)
- 150’000 m2 for the Haussmann store with 3 buildings and 25 floors
- 1 million different product references in sales
- 3’ooo brands
- 10’000 pair of shoes sold every year during sales
- 450 cash registers in Haussmann store
Le Printemps & Christmas, a luxury appointment.
As you know, the Haussmann Boulevard becomes one of the busiest streets during Christmas time. All tourists visiting Paris, will pass by the Printemps famous animated windows in order to celebrate Christmas and of course, doing some shopping. It will represent 25% of annual sales for the department store and to support the sales, Le Printemps have more than double its communication budget in the past 10 years. To maximize the effect to to give consistency of its positioning as Luxury Department store, Le Printemps engages a strong and authentic partnership with top luxury grands in order to reveal the best Christmas ever. Chanel and Dior proposed a magnificent Christmas in partnership with le Printemps and each of these operations were an amazing success. Click on the links below to read more about it.
2011 – Le Printemps and Chanel
2012 – Le Printemps and Dior
So the idea of Christmas at Le Printemps is to capitalize on different luxury companies. The companies will attract an interesting customer group and the brands will have full powers to revisit the Printemps Haussmann windows and store. The biggest thrill is to guess what do they have prepared for us this year. Also the revelation evening is a very important moment in which all the press and the public discover the animated windows for the first time and there are always celebrities invited. Vanessa Paradis for Chanel or Marion Cotillard for Dior, every detail is taken in consideration by Le Printemps and the luxury brand partner.
2013, Christmas by Prada – a true obsession
Next Christmas, Le Printemps dares to play the game with one of the most international luxury brands ever: Prada. The italian brand, lead by the hand and the heart of Miuccia Prada, will reveal together with Le Printemps, a Christmas vision that you would not being able to imagine.
The 2 brands have a perfect match as Le Printemps has a tradition about being innovative every year and innovation is the engine of Prada. So a title like Happy Obsession is a clever summary of what you will find in the french Department store from mid-november until the end of the year. Here is the mechanism.
Le Printemps Façade, a red ribbon for a Santa Claus.
Conceived in the tradition of Christmas, the facades of the Printemps department store on Boulevard Haussmann depict the magic of Christmas Eve, the obsession of all children. It will reveal a 16 meters long red ribbon shape-like track in which Santa Claus takes off in his sled. In total more than 150 stars and snow flakes will create the Christmas spirit.
Le Printemps windows, creativity and excitement at the maximum
Prada will work with Le Printemps to dress all the 11 windows of the store. 4 are animated (see above the plans) and 7 are fashion windows. To sign the idea of Christmas in its purest evocation of childhood, the two houses have chosen to stage a symbol long explored by Prada: the teddy bear. Engaging and fun, there are a total of 80 little bears around four sceneries that are animated displays: they play with the sets and mini accessories “Galleria” restored for the occasion with wires, needles, they dress a giant doll in what appears to be a couture studio, they start a choir in an accumulation of candies on top of Le Printemps roof and they finally engage in a series of winter sports in a showcase featuring the cable cars, tows, sledges, skiing and other climbers.
Le Printemps and Prada, an artistic main visual
Between PopArt, surrealism and Salvador Dali, this magnificent visual reflects the spirit of the operation. In center a very sophisticated women, the Prada Woman. She is stylish, sophisticated, modern and enigmatic. On his head, did come to seem like a fanciful collection of the most beautiful red roses and snow stars of all sizes which give it a very distinctive style straight out of the imagination of the house Prada. The marble floor contains the two-tone checkered heritage boutique house, the “Galleria”, opened in 1913. In the background, above the trees, under a starry sky worthy of the finest paintings by masters of the Italian Renaissance, the sun sets over the rotunda and the iconic facade of Le Printemps which stands as a landmark to Neverending Story, that is to say, the magic of Christmas.
The Printemps gets the Prada look
In order to celebrate the relationship between the 2 luxury houses, Le Printemps puts on stage Prada as if you were at the italian historical boutique in Milano.
In the Printemps main atrium, there will be a complete transformation. The floor becomes the iconic floor of the Prada’s Galleria in Milano. The walls are like a christmas calendar with numbers for each day and Prada looks. More than 1’200 lamps in a carrousel spirit will decorate the atrium in order to inspire a christmas sophisticated spirit. The XXL sized furnitures are in vintage version wood and in the center, we find a giant version of the exclusive carillon made by Prada for Le Printemps.
Prada exclusive for Printemps
If you visit Le Printemps by christmas time, you will also discover a edgy selection of desirable objects made exclusively by Prada for the french department store. Here are some of the items
A specific Prada visual for Communication campaigns
There is a specific visual coming soon that will be used by Le Printemps in all their communication campaigns. A future article will follow with full details.
This winter, you will be happily obsessed by Christmas thanks to Le Printemps in Paris. By choosing Prada as a partner this year, the french department store shows how strong their aim is to “satellitize” Le Printemps as one of the worldwide luxury references.
Info sourced at the official Press presentation release. All content is copyrighted with no reproduction rights available.
