Balenciaga opens Sloane Street store, features 'hyper-real' mannequins

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Mar 15, 2019

Balenciaga has opened a second London store with a debut on key luxury shopping thoroughfare Sloane Street, which is just a stone’s throw away from Harrods and Harvey Nichols.

The large 4,390 sq ft space (that formerly housed Ermenegildo Zegna) covers two floors and is a world away from the comfortable and opulent luxury found in many stores on the same street with a strongly industrial edge featuring heavily.

The interior looks more like a display case than a traditional fashion salon with metal shelving and minimalist furniture in grey. The clothes are suspended from a very industrial conveyor system and their intense colours are played up by the grey background as well as the more colourful flooring. Downstairs, the floor is burnt orange while upstairs, there’s an intense aqua toned carpet.

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Particularly interesting are the two “hyper-real” mannequins that are positioned in the windows fronting onto the main street. Exclusive to the brand, they’ve been created to imitate models Eliza Douglas and Takato Harashima.

The new store also comes with exclusive product, the brand’s popular leather tote bag being printed with the word London. And although it’s priced at almost £1,000, it might not be around for long as only 30 pieces have been made.

Sloane Street is currently one of London’s most in-demand luxury locations with a number of big name having upsized there recently.