Chanel's pop-up boutique in Aspen, Colorado.
Chanel has hit the slopes this winter season. The French fashion label opened a pop-up boutique in Aspen, Colorado—just in time to attract the high-spending consumers who regularly travel to the city for the holidays.
Indeed, Aspen has become a go-to destination for the rich and famous looking to ski, snowboard, or just enjoy the picturesque views of mountaintops blanketed in snow. Many rent out chalets or own homes just for this bourgeois reason—and Chanel is making sure that its wares are in proximity and readily available for purchase. This is a prime example of how luxury labels are placing close attention to markets that have a seasonal uptick of spendthrift individuals who wouldn’t bat an eye to, say, a sweater with a six-figure price tag.
Over the past decade, ever since Aspen became a playing ground for the wealthy, companies that peddle luxury goods have come to town to set up temporary spaces or host trunk shows, often to the detriment of local shops. “High-end art, jewelry and clothing dealers swooping into town for a weekend and doing businesses out of hotel rooms or in other nontraditional locations amounts to predatory retail,” reads a report by the Aspen Daily News in 2016. And three years later, the trajectory of foreign brands coming to the snow-filled city is only increasing.
Still, it is a wise move for labels like Chanel to erect a space for consumers that would probably buy its collections throughout the year anyway. It’s a business, after all, and with an evaluation of almost $100 billion, the maison certainly knows what it is doing.
Chanel's pop-up boutique in Aspen, Colorado.
For its pop-up boutique, Chanel seemingly spared no expense in creating an environment that enforces its reputation as the premiere luxury label. The 1,960-square foot boutique is located at the base of the Elk Mountains, and is modeled after the founder’s apartment at 31, rue Cambon in Paris, France. It is lined with mirrored columns, and features furnishings in the brand’s signature color palette: beige, black, and white. The store houses the Fall 2019 collection, the Cruise 2019 collection, watches, fine jewelry, fragrances, and handbags.
And to promote the existence of the space, which will be open until January 2020, Chanel hosted a media event, inviting select fashion magazines and a bevy of fresh-faced actresses to post about the unveiling. They included Kristine Froseth, Nesta Cooper, Charlotte Lawrence, Kaitlyn Drever, and Cailee Spaeny.
“It was truly one of the best trips of my life,” said Spaeny through Chanel’s publicity team. “I felt honored to be there with Chanel. It was a winter wonderland dream.”
Cailee Spaeny at a media event for Chanel's pop-up boutique in Aspen, Colorado.
Though scant in her description of the happening, it’s not hard to imagine how Chanel would create a winter wonderland dream. It invariably has the most spectacular presentations at Paris Fashion Week, and throws fancy fêtes throughout the year—like the one in New York with brand ambassador Lily-Rose Depp a few weeks ago. And with this pop-up shop, it is reaffirming how it is a brand that imparts instant cachet—which is, in large part, why many vacation in Aspen every winter season.
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