Galeries Lafayette
A basement to awaken the Parisian department store
2004, a simple goal: attract teenagers and young adults to come to one of the largest Department Store, Galeries Lafayette Haussmann. Saguez & Partners was given free rein to quickly create this basement space (4,000 m²), much like a teenager setting up their own hideout in the attic or basement. The design was intentionally raw, built with humor, offbeat elements, and early upcycling. A playful mix of fashion, music, video games, and gender-neutral studio-style decoration.
Key Facts
LAFAYETTE VO = "Version Originale" (in french)
170 brands
4000 m2 basement
15,000 visitors / day
10 months of design and production
"Limited budget, plenty of ideas: a pop-up store that went on to inspire many others." Boris Gentine
A private entrance, not the same as my Parents'!
A direct entrance from the metro, with recognizable tags and graffiti, made it clear: this was their space now — their very own place.
Fashion to Mix and Match!
Lifestyle creates fashion,* and this is especially true for teens. Fashion is all-encompassing, everything should be "fashion." Here, Saguez & Partners imagined a strict layout to facilitate navigation and help visitors grasp the scale of the offering, while still allowing for a playful and eclectic mix of genres across dedicated spaces: Miss Glamour, T-shirt laundry pressing, DJ caravan, Must-Have aisle (100 m²), blue jeans zone for girls, blue jeans zone for boys, shoe climbing wall, studio decor, record and book shop, a café… across more than 4,000 m².
And then, the fun little touches: Grandma’s hair dryer headsets to listen to music, Boris’ off-season Santa Claus, “From elsewhere” imports, early contributions from the friends at studio 5.5, giant blister-pack Barbie dolls… The agency had a lot of fun, and apparently so did the 15,000 daily visitors.
* Christian Lacroix
In 2004, it was also about waking up a major institution
It’s through fashion and through the youth that a large department store, the largest in Europe, can be revitalized. The agency brought in a fresh new language: bright yellow (as a playful nod to Lafayette’s iconic red), graffiti, quirky and reimagined visuals, new vocabulary, words, sounds, and tone. In 2004, Galeries Lafayette woke up to surprise Paris (and beyond) once again, and remain the store that continues to astonish.
A clear layout for easy flow, with spaces where everything mixes in a joyful mismatch.
