Editor’s Note
This article explores Schiaparelli’s strategic entry into the Asian market, highlighting its commitment to exclusivity over expansion. By opening an appointment-only salon in Hong Kong’s Landmark Prince, the brand reinforces a “discipline of rarity” central to its identity.
Schiaparelli’s arrival in Asia is not marked by a proliferation of locations or a “retail-first” deployment. On the contrary, it is executed with a gesture consistent with its DNA: a permanent salon-boutique, accessible only by appointment, in one of Hong Kong’s most premium commercial environments — Landmark Prince, in the heart of Central.
Following a pop-up in Shanghai in 2024, this opening signifies a change in nature: no longer an opportunistic presence, but a permanent installation, conceived as a regional anchor point.
The implicit message is clear: Schiaparelli believes the market — and especially the clientele capable of buying couture, exceptional pieces, and jewelry — is becoming activatable again in Hong Kong, provided an experience radically aligned with the house’s promise is offered.
Within 1,700 square feet, Schiaparelli does not replicate a standardized format. The space is designed as a succession of communicating rooms, with a gold and black aesthetic reminiscent of an apartment. The architecture, signed by Daniel Roseberry in collaboration with Halleroed, establishes a clear language: intimacy, theatricality, mastery of couture codes.
The VIP dressing room is treated as a salon, while jewelry is presented in a bathroom covered in golden mosaics — down to the most spectacular detail, solid gold toilets.
This choice is not merely decorative: it materializes a brand strategy where the environment becomes a narrative device, designed to justify rarity, sustain desirability, and extend the experience beyond the product.
The opening coincides with Landmark, owned by developer Hongkong Land, embarking on a renovation announced at $400 million. This context matters.
Schiaparelli is not moving into a shopping mall: it is moving into a repositioned premium asset, where retail is treated as a component of the city’s international attractiveness. In other words, Landmark becomes a platform: a selection of houses, a demand for execution excellence, a long-term reading of the market.
This framework reinforces the coherence of the Schiaparelli model: few locations, but “showcase” locations, capable of absorbing a high-intensity service and storytelling experience.
Since the revival orchestrated by Diego Della Valle (2012), Schiaparelli has favored a controlled development approach. Outside of Paris, the house has permanent locations in London, New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Dubai, and Monaco — a deliberately tight network, built around cities where couture is not a volume market, but a market of influence and relationship.
The historic salon on Place Vendôme, reopened in 2014, set the template: the house grows through individual appointments, establishing rare proximity with the clientele.
The Hong Kong bet is not blind. It comes after a period of weakening for the hub (political tensions, health shock, declining flows). However, some indicators are recovering: retail sales increased by 6.5% in value in November, marking a seventh consecutive month of growth according to local statistics.
This dynamic is supported by two drivers: the gradual confidence of local demand and the recovery of international tourism. In this context, the winning houses are not necessarily those that “open the most,” but those that know how to monetize the recovery through relational excellence, mastery of the experience, and the ability to capture very high-contribution clients.
The by-appointment format transforms the store into a management instrument. It allows for optimizing the allocation of pieces, securing the availability of expertise, and orchestrating a customer journey where service becomes a competitive advantage.