Shanghai’s Best New Store Facades

Syndicated from Maosuit

New Burberry and Chloe Stores in K11 Mall Shanghai

In April 2001 Mao Suit published a post titled Top Luxury Brand’s Store facades in Shanghai. Yet, a recent visit to Shanghai has rendered the 2011 post out of date, as a plethora of new store openings and façade renovations in the last few months necessitate and updated list. So here is current list of the biggest, brightest and most captivating store facades dressing up Shanghai.

Following the re-opening of Louis Vuitton’s Maison (and elaborate fashion show) in July last year, other brands including Dior, Hermes, Cartier and Dolce & Gabbana have all followed step and enlarged their store facades in Plaza 66 (mall). These brands’ facades now tower four story high. Mao Suit must now invest in a fish eye lens just to capture these massive facades in a single photo.

A few blocks further west along Nanjing Road one will discover the Reel shopping complex. Reel hosts a contingent of Kering Group plus other brands and while not as domineering as the facades in Plaza 66, they still represent the flagship stores and best facades several of these brands have to offer in Shanghai.

In Shanghai’s other Huaihai Road luxury zone, the newly opened K11 Art Mall increased Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Max Mara and Chloe’s sphere of influence on the city with more four story mega-façade action.

Not to be outdone by the luxury labels, sports behemoths Adidas and Nike have done their utmost to festoon their own mega facades that sit side by side on Huaihai Middle Road. What the luxury players convey with subtle lighting and nuanced facades the sports brands make up for in pizzazz and high energy window merchandising that prove impossible is nothing and inspire the desire to just do it.

Still under completion are two other luxury malls in Shanghai – iAPM on Huaihai West Road and Kerry Centre Shanghai on Nanjing West Road. Both due to open by the end of the year, some of their facades including Prada’s in iAPM area already visable and bound to suck-in customers tractor beam style with their interstellar spaceshipesque corner façade. After these two new malls are fully open, lets wait and see who can snatch the top spot in Shanghai’s battle of the facades.