Carla Sozzani, director of Milan-based shop 10 Corso Como, visited Japan. With the opening of its first store in China, Shanghai, scheduled for September, she will be touring Shanghai, Seoul, and Tokyo. Dieci Corso Como is a multi-purpose shop founded in 1990 by Sozzani, a former editor of Italian ELLE and Italian Vogue. In addition to a fashion boutique, the shop also houses an art gallery, bookstore, cafe, and hotel. Under the discerning editorship of Sozzani, it has become a hub for the latest culture. It could be said to be the prototype of the lifestyle-oriented shops that are so popular today.
"I think the reason shops like this are so popular now is because it's based on the same idea I had when I started the store: that fashion isn't everything to a person. I used to be a magazine editor, so I was interested in not only clothes, but design, art, music, and more. That's why I created a store based on the concept of 'slow shopping.' Visitors walk through a space that has been curated from a specific perspective, and engage in conversations with the selected items. The bookstore and gallery are the most important final destination of my store, where I convey my ideas."
Dieci Corso Como achieved success with this innovative concept, and in 2002, they opened "Dieci Corso Como Comme des Garçons," co-edited with Comme des Garçons designer Rei Kawakubo, in Aoyama, Tokyo (it has now moved to the 6th floor of Dover Street Market Ginza in Ginza, Tokyo). In 2008, they partnered with the Samsung Group to expand into Seoul. They currently have two stores in Seoul. Now, in partnership with Trendy International, a Chinese fashion company funded by L Capital, a subsidiary of the LVMH Group, the brand has decided to expand into Shanghai.
"I first visited China in 1980, traveled around the country by train, and fell in love with it. Things have changed rapidly since then, but today's young people in China have traveled all over the world, are highly informed, and are full of curiosity. I'm excited to see how they will accept this new type of store that doesn't just focus on a single brand."
The Shanghai store, located on Nanjing West Road, is a four-story street-level store. It also includes a gallery, restaurant, and bar. The gallery will host rotating exhibitions from the Milan flagship store. Brands included include COMME des GARÇONS, ALAIA, LANVIN, and CARVEN, and the brand hopes to discover Asian designers as well.
"I've always been interested in different cultures. Working with many East Asian countries is not just for business, but also for learning. The Korean fashion scene is interesting right now. I've also discovered some talented Chinese designers. Xiao Li won the Diesel Award at the ITS fashion contest held in Trieste, Italy this year. I'm also keeping an eye on Japanese tailor Ichiro Suzuki, who won the award last year. It would be interesting to collaborate with them at our Shanghai store someday."
"Slow shopping," conceived by Sozzani 23 years ago, is a methodology that is neither online shopping nor fast fashion, but is being explored by brick-and-mortar stores today. Whether this new store based on this concept is accepted in China, the world's second largest luxury market, will be a litmus test for the future expansion of lifestyle shops in China.
