Bienvenu à Paris: Dover Street Market finally comes to the City of Lights

After years of speculations, the concept store imagined by Rei Kawakubo and Adrian Joffe finds a home in Paris in the iconic Marais neighbourhood. 

It’s a new fashion destination. Last week, the long-anticipated Dover Street Market opened its doors in Paris at the Hôtel de Coulanges, 35-37 Rue des Francs-Bourgeois. Previously home to the showroom and pop up art space 3537 with a curated selection of emerging brands, now the iconic 17th-century mansion, that used to belong to the French literary legend and feminist ​​Madame de Sevigné, transformed itself into Dover Steet Market Paris with a new positioning and a fresh selection of brands and art projects. 

Adrian Joffé and Rei Kawakubo found the mansion around four years ago and were planning to open their Parisian store for a while. But then Covid struck, so the project was put on hold, only to come back four years later, when the world itself came back to business as usual. Just like the other DSM shops in Tokyo, London, Los Angeles, Singapore, Ginza, Beijing or New York, the Paris destination was designed and conceived by Rei Kawakubo herself under her favourite principle of “beautiful chaos”. But contrary to the other DSM stores, the Parisian one does not give control of the space to the brands. There is no hierarchy, no gender or distinction, everything is curated by Rei Kawakubo and her teams, mixing up newcomers and luxury giants, 30 euros t-shirts and 4000 leather skirts, womenswear and menswear. Rei gently refers to the Parisian concept as “the new chaos”.

Browsing through the 1 100 square meter store, which takes three floors, one can find the biggest selection of contemporary Japanese brands in Continental Europe: think Comme des Garçons and all of its sister brands from Shirt and Girl to PLAY, Junya Watanabe, Noir Kei Ninomiya, Undercover and Sacai but also emerging designers like Doublet or Senchu, who won the LVMH Prize back in 2023. There is also a curated selection from the hottest Italian luxury brands like Bottega Veneta, Prada and Miu Miu (the New Balance collab is available in all sizes). Something from newcomers, straight from Parisian runways: Alainpaul, Torishéju and Nicolo Pasqualleti. A bit of fashion classics: Marc Jacobs, Simone Rocha, Marine Serre, JW Anderson, Maison Margiela, Rick Owens. Kiko Kostadinov, Cecilie Bahnsen, Molly Goddard, Wales Bonner and Martine Rose are also there. And a bunch of emerging brands, supported by Dover Street Market globally: Chopova Lowena, ERL, Rassvet, Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, Vaquaera, Weinsanto, Sky High Farm, Olly Shinder, Ponte, Duran Latink, Zomer, Indépendantes de Coeur, and many more. 

DSM Paris is not only fashion without borders, but also about culture and art, and everything that surrounds the spirit of creative freedom and can inspire an independent mindset. For the opening month, the art programme features the exhibition of Paolo Roversi’s images shot for Comme des Garçons (the Italian legend, whose talent is now celebrated at Palais Galliera with the first Parisian retrospective, used to be the brand’s official image maker for many years) on giant curved wooden sculptures in the courtyard and in the basement, and Matty Bovan’s imaginary apartment with surrealist bright colours, paillettes and checks. And for those, who would love to grab a bite during their shopping day or just take a break from Parisian madness in one of the most beautiful rose gardens of the Right Bank, Dover Street Market Paris hosts Rose Bakery on the ground floor. A favourite of the Parisians, the lovely tea salon was created by Rose Carrarini, Adrian Joffe’s sister. It’s a family affair, after all.

Courtesy: DH-PR

Text: Lidia Ageeva