Le Bon Marché recently inaugurated its Salons Particuliers, a 300m2 showcase dedicated to style and styles. A team of personal shoppers and stylists receive customers by appointments in the warm and cosy atmosphere of an apartment. Located on the third floor of the store, the historic offices - including the classified room occupied by Mr Aristide Boucicaut, founder of Le Bon Marché, himself – are now dedicated to this new role. "Aristide", named after Mr. Boucicaut, is a large circular room. Entirely panelled in mahogany, topped with 30s motives gilt, it is illuminated with lamps in engraved glass and alabaster.
The "Library" contains more than 800 copies of the book that Émile Zola published in 1883, Au Bonheur des dames, a novel inspired by the invention of department stores and the opening of Le Bon Marché. This special edition, made exclusively for the store and edited by Gallimard, is illustrated by the artist and graphic designer Vahram Muratyan.
A cabinet of curiosity features two hundred niches in which pictures and art pieces are mixed with books or a set of 21 Le Bon Marché logos, evoking by their graphics its history since the beginning of the 20th century.
Works of Joana Vasconcelos, Marjane Satrapi, Chiharu Shiota, Lea Augereau, Eric Giriat, Morse Workshop, Martin Paar or Vincent Fournier give the feeling to live in the apartment of an aesthete.
The "Grand Salon" mixes soft colours and curved lines in a feminine atmosphere surrounded by multiple mirrors.
Customers can treat themselves – or a friend – to a fashion experience in the Salons Particuliers, where personal stylists will advise on look, as customers look at a connected mirror-screen that records photos and videos of the outfits they have tried on.