La Maison Champs-Elysées reopens with Maison Martin Margiela design (Or, how high fashion is entering hospitality)
6 Comments
La Maison Champs-Elysées has a privileged location in the Golden Triangle area on the right bank of Paris. Situated just blocks away from the Champs-Elysées, the hotel feels like a world away: it’s quiet enough to hear birds singing in the morning. A complete refurbishment of the property began in October 2010 on this former Sofitel hotel, with re-design led by the renowned fashion house Maison Martin Margiela. The hotel managers hosted me in Paris recently, and shared a bit about what this partnership means for their hotel and the hospitality industry in general.
The goal of the renovation at La Maison Champs-Elysées was to give guests the experience of having a luxurious city home. “Some hotels are places to see and be seen, but the concept of La Maison was to provide a place to get away and have privacy,” hotel director Hugues Godard told me.
The new interiors clearly show the distinctive style of Martin Margiela. A signature pure, white design theme pervades the building. Striking minimalism is balanced with design touches that pay tribute to the heritage of the building. While Martin Margiela has worked on individual hotel suites in the past, La Maison Champs-Elysées is their first complete hotel project.
The advantages of this partnership
By partnering with Maison Martin Margiela, the owners of La Maison Champs-Elysées receive a number of key benefits.
Instant credibility. Partnering with a leading fashion house provides credibility within the industry and for their discerning clients.
Improved guest experience. Experience design is an increasingly important discipline in hotel marketing, and the design of a hotel plays a large role in the guests experience.
Increased word of mouth. This credibility and lifestyle branding leads to more online buzz and media attention. Through this partnership, it’s more likely for the hotel to get attention outside of just travel media: many design, architecture and lifestyle media outlets are also picking up their story.
High fashion enters the hospitality industry
“There are natural affinities between lifestyle hotels and fashion brands.” – Bjorn Hanson, New York University
La Maison Champs-Elysées seems to be a part of a trend we’ve seeing around the world over the past few years. Other fashion houses are experimenting with hotel concepts. Armani opened hotels in Dubai and Milan. Versace has hotels in Australia and Dubai. Even Tommy Hilfiger has begun a hotel project converting a New York building into a luxury hotel.
Great design is a huge element in the guest experience, and for the always-connected customer, experience serves as the new marketing. It will be interesting to see La Maison Champs-Elysées fully open this Monday, and watch this part of the industry evolve even more in the years ahead.
Thanks to Martin Soler and Hugues Godard for their help in creating this story.
You should enter your email below to receive new tips like this each Monday morning:
+1 347 422 6784
Great post. As fashion houses become more aware of the available options, we’re on the cusp of seeing some unbelievable amenities that enhance the living experience, in much the same way that special effects transformed moviemaking.
For myself, I’m keeping an eye out for people like Guillermo del Toro, who last year opened up a groundbreaking transmedia studio in my old stomping grounds of Marina del Rey. He understands that experiences will cease to be limited by our perceptions and in his words, become permeable.
Thanks for the insights, Brian – I love that fashion house/filmmaker segue; hotels are a stellar opportunity for either medium to immerse fans/audiences (guests) in their art.
Guillermo-del-Toro-imagined amenities would be a treat. They’d certainly enhance the living experience… albeit not – perhaps – the soundly-sleeping experience…
Hi Josiah and Katie.
I have enjoyed all your Martin Soler inspired stories here. And I absolutely love the movie Hotel transparency. I am such a big fan of how the boutique Hotel style has evolved. Get all the info here on latest Hotel designs.
And I agree some Guillermo del Toro inspired design would be fun to see. Maybe some ideas from Pan’s labyrint. Though I would loved to see some James Cameron inspired design.
Cheers.. ARE
I am a girl carried away with the design and this article has seemed to me to be fantastic, I believe that The Maison Champs-Elysées has given an impressive draft towards what they are the new trends as for the architectural design, every day they are more the famous ones that penetrate into the implementation of business hotel models who offer comfort, elegance and distinction and Martin I agree with katie Guillermo of the bull it was seeking to heighten the alive experience from the abstract thing up to the royal thing
I’m not afraid to see high fashion enter hospitality, as long as it doesnt negatively affect the lodging experience. Having to scale ten flights of stairs to get to my room just because they are cool and quirky, for example, wouldn’t be very nice
–
Brandon M. Dennis
buuteeq.com | Build your hotel’s website, mobile website and Facebook page with buuteeq.
We just published a “case study” well that just sounds too official, of the pre-opening and launch of the hotel. The whole evolution was a fun bit of problems and solutions culminating into the site we just put online which we’re proud to think of as probably one of the smoothest luxury hotel sites online.
http://www.wihphotel.com/mag/2011/opening-an-unusually-cool-hotel-designed-by-maison-martin-margiela/