First Look to Acqua Di Parma’s New Store in Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris

MILAN — Acqua di Parma is saying “Buongiorno” to Paris on Wednesday by opening the doors of a new flagship, timed to the launch of its latest fragrance that bears the same name as the Italian word for “good morning.”

The name reflects the upbeat spirit with which the luxury beauty company has approached its return to a directly operated unit in the City of Light, where it had a boutique in the Marais area before COVID-19.

This time, the label has zeroed in on a 1,000-square-foot location in 205 Rue Saint-Honoré — situated next to the likes of Byredo, Le Labo, Fragonard and L’Artisan Parfumeur — that adds to its footprint of 30 boutiques worldwide.

“The idea was to position ourselves in a more central area, and in Rue Saint-Honoré there’s the rise of a real hub of niche fragrances. So we couldn’t not be there,” chief executive officer Giulio Bergamaschi said in an interview. “We wanted to bring some Italian sunshine to the city. We know that, as Italians, we have the luck to be appreciated in France. They like our country and pick it for their holidays, so we wanted to bring a little bit of our art of living in return.”

Hence the choice to opt for a retail-cum-gallery space. Divided into two parts, the front area defined by signature Acqua di Parma elements like arches and terracotta elements displays the brand’s product offering, ranging from fragrances to candles, as well as limited-edition pieces crafted by Italian artisans.

A back area dubbed “Parlapiano,” or “Speak softly” in English, will be open to the public only on certain occasions. It is intended to showcase the work of emerging designers and artisans who the brand works with or finds that are in line with its values and codes. 

The artistic program will kick off with a showcase of Sicilian ceramic artist Antonio Fratantoni, who has collaborated with the brand on sun-shaped artworks celebrating the Buongiorno fragrance. Timed to coincide with the PAD Paris Design event opening on Wednesday and running until Sunday, the display will be flanked by a dinner in Paris, before the company and Fratantoni replicate the presentation next week in Milan during Salone del Mobile.

Forging ties with designers and artisans is part of the brand elevation strategy Bergamaschi is pushing at the label and his deeper commitment to enhance Acqua di Parma’s lifestyle dimension.

Appointed in 2023, he joined the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-controlled company after an 18-year career at L’Oréal and a stint at Loro Piana. He said he learned “what it means to do cosmetics really well” from the former experience and “what the research for excellence” means from the latter, as he’s applying both lessons in his current role.

“The work I’m doing today is simply expressing Acqua di Parma’s values and make them relevant for today by using today’s language, and sometimes I take the liberty to amplify certain aspects rather than others,” Bergamaschi said.

In the process, he identified partnerships with artisans and designers as key to enhancing awareness of the storied brand. 

“In everything we do, we try to bring a human and artisanal dimension, which is very Italian,” Bergamaschi said. “I see collaborations as conversations where we ask a talent to [bring their vision] and help us play with our codes. Our future ones will be like these as well, rather than classic collaborations between brands.”

In particular, he found an affinity with French designer Dorothée Meilichzon, who 10 years ago established the Paris-based agency Chzon and has a track record for curating retail and hospitality projects from London and Venice to New York.

For Acqua di Parma’s Parisian store, Meilichzon reimagined the brand’s signature yellow hue in a high-gloss lacquer for a sleek, contemporary finish and combined it with off-white and beige tones. Traditional Parisian wood was juxtaposed with handmade terracotta tiles in salmon and rose for the flooring, while stainless steel elements were paired with marmorino walls to create a contrast and provide a modern edge. Wooden columns nodding to the shape of the Colonia fragrance bottle also define the space. 

Melichzon also opted for custom furniture, from a fragrance bar featuring smooth wooden arches on the base to a table with a yellow leather top and arch-carved legs. A candle bar spotlighting the home collection comes with a sleek cream lacquer finish accented by playful lemon-shaped details. Other witty elements include paper lamps in the shape of the Colonia bottle and a coffee table with a citrus peel-inspired leg. A cozy seating area offers guests a moment of relaxation while waiting for their products to be personalized.

Acqua di Parma’s collaboration with Meilichzon started almost two years ago, when she was called upon to reimagine the Art Deco-inspired shape of the Acqua di Parma bottle in the Chapeau porcelain object hiding two candles. The product was followed by the joint creation of a series of pop-up activations — such as the Yellow Cafè in Seoul — and was crowned by a boutique in Guangzhou, China, and an Acqua di Parma seasonal store in Saint-Tropez last year.

Opened from April to October, the small yet well-positioned unit in Saint-Tropez’s Place des Lices proved to be pivotal for the brand. Bergamaschi said it exceeded expectations in terms of buzz, international traffic and in recruiting new customers. So much so that the outpost will reopen on April 12, adding to the Parisian unit as well as counters at key retailers like Le Bon Marché for the French market.

“It’s small and simple but surprising,” said Bergamaschi, praising the Saint-Tropez store’s lively design hinged on sculptures and playful furniture in different scales that wink to the citrusy ingredients the company instills in its fragrances. 

These elements contributed to attract younger consumers as well, as Bergamaschi noted a decrease in the average age of the brand’s target consumer. He declined to reveal specific demographics and nationalities, saying the company is “balanced in its geographic split” but eyes further potential in the U.S. and Middle East.

As the target consumer and distribution footprint expands, so does the brand’s product offering, not only in fragrances but also in the lifestyle category. 

“When I travel and go abroad, people tell me that Acqua di Parma is like an Italian holiday in a bottle. And a vacation here is a multisensorial experience that goes beyond fragrance,” Bergamaschi said. “Considering the brand’s craftsmanship — which has to be constantly renewed and strengthened — and that our retail footprint is expanding, it’s essential for me to have a wider catalogue that can express that art of living and offer a richer experience to our customers.”

For example, to mark the Saint-Tropez store opening last year, the brand introduced a Pétanque set and leather car diffuser exclusive to the unit, which added to other pieces like tableware and a leather and wood tray and picnic basket replete with Christofle Mood cutlery. 

“These are not objects that have the vocation to be in a large-scale distribution….They need a special context to be appreciated, so we reserve these to our stores or top doors,” Bergamaschi said.

Along with Fratantoni’s artwork, the new Buongiorno fragrance will also be flanked by hand and body products like lotions and a perfumed soap bar, as well as lifestyle objects ranging from a porcelain soap holder designed by Meilichzon to beauty cases in leather and raffia.

As for the edp itself, it is crafted through the art of co-distillation, where petitgrain and basil are distilled simultaneously. Its juice opens with an aromatic top blending notes of lemon, spearmint and rosemary; features mandarin leaves in the heart and mixes cedarwood, amber and white musks in the dry-down.

The launch follows the release of Colonia Il Profumo, a reinterpretation of the hallmark Colonia fragrance that kickstarted Acqua di Parma’s history in 1916. Back then, Baron Carlo Magnani was in search of a different scent and commissioned a perfume artisan in the Italian town of Parma to create a cologne, which resulted in the original Colonia. Offered in an Art Deco glass bottle, the scent rose to popularity in the 1930s and gained international success in the ’50s, when bespoke tailors used to spritz the fragrance on made-to-measure suits before handing them to their high-end clientele, including Hollywood actors of the time.