The French are known for style. So it makes sense that Ripley, the Chilean department store chain, would choose a Parisan design firm, Saguez and Partners, to create a distinct look for its stores that would embody the ever-chic French style.
“There is an unavoidable U.S. influence on design in Latin America,” says Boris Gentine, the firm’s creation director. “Instead of making it look the same as other Americanized stores, we borrowed luxury codes from haute couture, Parisian hotels and Haussmann apartments.” (Baron Haussmann was the French planner commissioned by Napoleon III to transform Paris from Medieval to modern in the 1860s.)
On Ripley’s ground floor, an atrium serving as a central square opens into surrounding “worlds,” or departments, with an exclusive mix of colors, materials and brands, each depicting a type of woman. “Marquis,” the department for the fashionable and trendy woman, features an orange and black loft-like space, while “Cacharel,” embodying more of a classic, top-handle-purse-and-gloves-type lady, highlights the Haussmann-inspired apartment design with black-and-white accents. In the “Regata” world for the easy-wear woman, a casual atmosphere is defined by unfinished materials, beige and green hues. Mimicking the luxurious Crillon Hotel, large lanterns hang above bushes to illuminate a customer path into the worlds.
“The worlds help shoppers find their own style among the luxury brands,” Gentine says. Other design details, such as quilted sofas, ceiling-high curtains and chandeliers, play up the Parisian style.