Before cool found its way into your closet, it reached Jappy Gonzalez’s first.
Ready your wallet because the retail maverick behind Homme et Femme and Univers is bringing new brands and experiences you never thought you wanted before. Of course, he just has to start by setting up Ladurée first.
Set to open on July 19 at 8 Rockwell, the Parisian patisserie, whose pastel macarons appeared in Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, will soon change the game of edible luxury locally. Sure, it’s food, and it doesn’t fit in the category of luxury fashion, but trust Jappy when he says it does.
“I think it’s in sync with the world. When you think about it, the only thing [my brand] hasn’t touched yet is the sense of taste. So why not?” he says.
It does make sense, though: When we speak of fine things, don’t we try to live finely down to our small meals? The move of bringing food is a step toward dominating the field of taste. Only this time, Jappy’s team takes it literally.
“If you see it as a person, it’s just a redefinition of this person, that’s all. It just makes us complete. We’re not getting into more food. When you think about it, Ladurée is a retail business. We’re not creating anything.”
Besides, Jappy is still mindful of the division that made his domain. Fashion is going strong, and so are the other brands he’s bringing like Lanvin and Balenciaga ready-to-wear, which will be arriving sometime this month.
The question now is: How does he choose which brands to bring in from the worldwide retail choices out there?
