Gucci has launched its first ultra-luxe Salon store concept in L.A., complete with fresh-off-the-red-carpet gowns.

The 4,380-square-foot space is on the prime corner of Melrose Place and Melrose Avenue in an ivy-covered constructing that for years was occupied by Marc Jacobs. He first put the sleepy, leafy street of antique dealers on the posh fashion map when he opened his store there in 2005, resulting in the arrival of Bottega Veneta, Balmain, Chloé, Oscar de la Renta, Marni, Golden Goose and plenty of more on what’s turn out to be one in all L.A.’s toniest business thoroughfares. There’s even a Caviar Kaspia now.

The large Gucci billboard on top lends visibility to the brand for anyone driving by. However the Gucci Salon is just not open to only anyone — only to top-tier clients and only by appointment.

Although the brand wouldn’t share Salon prices, François-Henri Pinault, chairman and chief executive officer of Gucci parent Kering, told analysts in an earnings call in February the range would go from about 40,000 euros ($43,000) to greater than 3 million euros.

“While ‘salon’ is a French word, it has Italian meaning from the 18th century — a Florentine idea, really, from the Renaissance, and the Medici court, a gathering of interesting people keen about beauty. The fantastic thing about art, of an idea, and of fashion because salons were, amongst so many things, laboratories of ideas,” Marco Bizzarri, president and CEO, Gucci, mused in an email.

“Salons engendered a way of community, of debate and customary enjoyment of life’s beautiful things, of latest trends and concepts. The Gucci Salon concept is subsequently the final word playground for our community to explore essentially the most extraordinary possibilities of Gucci’s Italian craft, and to interact with us creatively.” 

The Salons are supposed to exhibit essentially the most elevated product and craft, including made-to-order collections for men and ladies, accessories, luggage, decor, and high jewelry and watches. Also featured might be rare and exclusive vintage pieces which have been restored by Gucci artisans.

The L.A. Salon is surrounded by windows tinted so clients can see out, but prying eyes can’t see in. Private appointments may be booked for 2, three or 4 hours, or all day, and there’ll a special menu on offer from the Gucci Osteria restaurant on Rodeo Drive. Red carpet fittings will also be done within the space.

The inside was created by award-winning Hollywood production designer and longtime Gucci campaign set designer Gideon Ponte, who has worked with the brand for the reason that Tom Ford days, and designed such movies as “American Psycho” and “Buffalo 66.”

With antique and contemporary pieces, some sourced by Ponte’s film industry vendors, the Salon is supposed to evoke an old Hollywood movie set with mirrored columns, proscenium-like curtains, chandeliers and a theatrical looking dressing room with red and purple velvet stripe partitions and vanity mirror lights.

Center stage is a display of the home’s recent red carpet looks, including the custom silver crystal and sequin embroidered gown worn by Jessica Chastain eventually month’s Academy Awards; the strapless gown with black vinyl, crystal embroidered bustier and canary yellow ostrich feather skirt worn by Jodie Turner Smith to the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, and the crystal fringe column worn by Dakota Johnson on the Venice Film Festival in 2021.

The couture-like Salon collection features a sweeping kimono dressing gown conjuring Gloria Swanson in “Sunset Boulevard”; tweed suiting with crystal over-embroidery; drama capes, and velvet tailoring.

The racks may be easily removed so the shop will also be reconfigured as a advantageous jewelry or watch salon, for instance.

Lacquered nineteenth century Chinese chests brim with advantageous jewelry, including diamond, emerald and sapphire chokers and cuffs. Clients can order bespoke accessories, too. There are exotic-skin Diana bags and $43,000 crystal Teddy Bear bags, while a full set of green leather Gucci luggage, including a trunk and hat bags, references house founder Guccio Gucci, who established the Florentine house after working at The Savoy hotel in London.

There might be nine everlasting and temporary Salons opening in Recent York, Paris, Milan, London, Dubai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei and Tokyo, each with its own collection of product.

Gucci’s deal with the wealthiest shoppers is a component of its turnaround strategy after sales fell 14 percent within the last three months of 2022, dragged down by COVID-19 lockdowns in China and a declining desire for its fashion within the U.S.

The Italian luxury brand is in a transition period, having parted ways with its longtime creative director Alessandro Michele in November. His successor Sabato De Sarno, previously a designer at Valentino, will debut his first women’s collection in September during Milan Fashion Week.

Gucci has had the Melrose space since spring 2022, when it introduced a Gucci Adidas pop-up there.

The Old Hollywood aesthetic and maximalist evening wear are consistent with Michele’s vision for the brand; he forged strong ties with celebrities including Harry Styles, Elton John and Jared Leto, and showed his Love Parade runway collection on Hollywood Boulevard in November 2021.

But Gucci’s legacy of offering an ultra-luxe shopping experience to L.A. predates him — by an extended time.

Aldo Gucci, son of brand name founder Guccio Gucci, inaugurated an ultra-luxurious space called Gucci Galleria above the brand’s Beverly Hills boutique on Rodeo Drive in 1977.

“I’m going against the present, as an alternative of stepping down, I need everyone to step up,” Guccio Gucci told WWD on the October 1977 opening party and fashion show for the Galleria, where lore has it there was a live tiger as a part of the entertainment, and the luxe goods available included a black leather handbag with a detachable 18-karat gold chain and diamond buckle that might be worn as a necklace.

“It was a singular and distinct space from the essential boutique, situated on a separate floor, accessible by a non-public key,” Bizzarri said of the Galleria. “So where else should we open our first Salon if not here in L.A? Set against the backdrop of Hollywood — and speaking of Melrose particularly — that has for a long time been an important center of L.A. cool.”

“My team and I pulled a variety of research. We checked out Gucci stores, from the primary to today. There’s a clip online of the outside of the Galleria within the ’70s,” said Ponte. “The trick was attempting to work out how this space should feel; I desired to design a gate that harked back to Old Hollywood, a present to the road, something beautiful, there’s a buzzer, with a ‘By Appointment’ sign. It is a transitional moment; walking through it you get to enter the atelier. I suppose because I come from filmmaking, I believe of space in a way of storytelling, shots and transitions.”

On the earnings call, Pinault characterised the Salons as the most recent step in Gucci’s product elevation drive, with its average selling price rising double-digits last yr. He said, “We are usually not just waiting for Sabato to reach.”