CONTEMPORARY COUPLINGS
Are luxury hotels a new platform for fashion exposure?
The hotel itself is something that guests, when travelling, associate as their safe haven and trusted source. Could the latest pairings of hotel and fashion label be a good strategy to foster followers for both brands within a new community? So far, yes, as these brands look to heighten awareness within a select high-end market, and is a some-what subtle way of providing extra exposure for both involved.
Back in October of 2010 at the Los Angeles Sofitel hotel, there was an exhibit, titled Fashion Stills, showcasing fashion photography, that was a rotating art collection combining the worlds of fashion and art in partnership with Polka Galerie in Paris. On display in the lobby, the pieces added an air of prestige to the atmosphere and guests were made to feel as though they had become privy to an exclusive gallery, an elite sneak peek of behind-the-scenes fashion. Both Sofitel and the photography exhibit benefited from this alliance and grounded in the bond of both being French in origin, the collaboration generated newfound publicity for both participants. The artwork toured various lobbies from Paris, to L.A. and was even seen in Montreal, ensuring an international audience of an exclusive calibre.
More recently, the Four Seasons in Silicon Valley, CA has been holding events showcasing fashion designers such as Tory Burch and Kate Spade, both who have boutiques at the local Stanford mall. Women who lunch are able to enjoy the atmosphere of the restaurant, boosting sales for the hotel, all while viewing the latest fashions from their favourite labels. (This hotel is slightly different from the downtown L.A. haute spots as the majority of their clientele is drawn from the surrounding community.) To build on this neighbourhood network, Four Seasons public relations director Nicole Neal has since created another fashionable partnership, this time with local fashion designer Camilla Olson, who has designed attire for the female hostesses in the bar and restaurant with a combination of sheath dresses, jackets, skirts and shorts in uniquely printed silk fabrics. “For me, I was excited to partner with Camilla because the partnership truly brought to life our Four Seasons value of building communities,” Neal tells FRM. “She is a local resident, who prints her fabrics at a local studio, and all of her garments are domestically made. Her values mirrored ours and our clientele’s.”
Additionally, the Four Seasons has featured her designs in the lobby of the hotel, complete with hanging 30-foot-high samples of some of the hand printed silks used for the dress fabrics, as well as mannequins displaying some of her couture designs for her label Identity, and the 2011 look book. “As I was changing the looks on the mannequins, a guest approached me to say ‘thank-you’ for the installation,” Olson tells us. “In his view, a frequent traveler, hotels are typically cold and uninteresting. His week-long stay was enhanced with the display as it made him feel like he was at home. The Four Seasons partnership gives us several ways to present our designs directly to our customer and gauge feedback from our target market, in a sense it is ‘living’ social media.”
Similarly, in Montreal, designer Denis Gagnon designed uniforms for the staff of Place D’Armes Hotel. The collaboration, incorporating Gagnon’s signature, but functional, zippers and a minimalist color palette (making the staff uniforms at Place D’Armes sophisticated and cool), marks both the hotel and designer’s ten year anniversary.
The intimacy, opulence and standards of a five star hotel seem to provide a trusted endorsement of a fashion brand to a new, fresh audience and with fashion designer’s displaying their creations within a hotel lobby, it lends an increased credibility to the collection. The idea is that if hotels such as the Sofitel, Four Seasons and Place D’Armes believe in the designer’s collection enough to feature their designs they automatically have worth. Talk about a complementary pairing!
