Life, style and glamour are back on the luxury fashion street of Cheongdam in southern Seoul, brimming again with well-known fashion house and boutique store names in architectural extravaganzas. Latest newcomers to the street are Chanel, Miu Miu and Moncler and jewelry and watch household names Cartier and Omega are remodeling their shops to join the upscaling competition in the posh neighborhood.

The 900-meter street stretching from Galleria Department Store in Apgujeong to Dosan Intersection has gained fame for a luxury fashion district in the 1990s. But it lost much of the trend-setting aura and glitz as the younger fashion aficionados having greater choices from direct shopping from online and select shops elsewhere were replaced by wealthy housewives.

The street has regained some of the lost fame with fashion houses choosing the street to open up flagship stores since two years ago. Following Italian cashmere fashion house Brunello Cucinelli, household luxury names like Burberry and Dior opened up extravagant flagship stores. The House of Dior, Asia’s largest store, in a structure of fluid all-white dress raised the bar on fashion statement by turning the showroom into a gallery-like space to keep true to its reputation as the grande dame of Paris. Other luxury brands such as La Perla and Gianfranco Lotti joined the competition on architectural spectacle through their new shop opening, giving the street a novel and aesthetic look.

An official from real estate agency Cushman & Wakefield Korea said luxury fashion houses cannot find a location better than Cheongdam to open a shop in Seoul. It is why the competition is heavy to get hands on the scarce property spaces available. Chanel waited for years for the lease contract to end for the building Cartier was in to purchase the building. Cartier had to move out to find another location. Smaller boutique and fashion names no longer able to afford the sky-high rents are now being pushed back to the backstreets of Cheongdam.

By Park In-hye

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