The fashion capital’s history began with the  “Father of Haute Couture,” Charles Frederick Worth (Oct. 13, 1826–March 10, 1895), who albeit being born in England, championed the French fashion industry. Today, Paris prides itself on its current reigning couture houses of Jean-Paul Gaultier and Dior (Dior-pre-this-Fall-2011-collection, that is).
Having revolutionized the perception of dressmaking, Paris has since become a symbol that signifies more than just clothing — it is a lifestyle of cultured luxury. While Paris exudes a unique energy that is envied by all, the means in which to imitate it is sought by the privileged masses.
Chanel 2.55 quilted classics are seen on the arms of girls from Beijing to Bahrain. Balmain jackets dress the stars of Hollywood, while the global phenomenon of Christian Louboutin’s red soles have become the fashion equivalent to Facebook. It couldn’t be more apparent: French fashion is not a trend, but rather a mainstream culture.
Today, that culture is being exported to Saudi Arabia, one luxury flagship boutique at a time, thanks to the handful of Saudi distribution partners profiting over Saudis’ steady purchasing power.
Founded by the Binzagr family, the Rubaiyat Modern Luxury was founded in 1980 and now possesses exclusive representation of over 60 designer luxury brands. While Rubaiyat has secured mainly the Italian fashion houses, it also carries Lanvin and Balmain in their multibrand stores and has a flagship boutique for Yves Saint Laurent. Due to the restrictions of Saudi commercial laws, many non-Saudi exclusive distributors of the Middle East have signed with local companies in order to enter the lucrative local market. Farouk Trading signed with Middle Eastern luxury giant, Chalhoub Group, to bring the first Christian Louboutin stand-alone boutique to the Middle East in 2010; while Jamjoom Trading, which boasts the super luxury brands Christian Dior, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton, seems to be the Saudi ambassador of French Fashion.
These iconic names in fashion are not just offering the Saudi market an alternative to four-day shopping trips in European countries; rather they are providing a cultural exchange of materialistic sorts. French fashion, along with its aura of exclusive luxury, is being imported. Saudi Arabia, along with its residents, has transformed into a loyal clientele, making the average annual sales of its boutiques rank just below their sister stores in Dubai — the leading market in the Middle East.
According to the McKinsey's Consumer & Shopper Insights (CSI), globally luxury retailers saw sales drop by more than 13 percentage points from 2007-09 during the financial recession. Despite this, within the past three years, Saudi Arabia’s luxury retail market has seen a complete makeover with boutiques getting severe facelifts in order to accurately reflect their international flagship counterparts. A demand for French chic and a purchasing power to fund that desire, Saudi Arabia is quickly becoming one of French fashion’s best and loyal customers.
The cultural faux pas seems to have occurred after the brands arrived in Saudi Arabia. Veteran shoppers of these brands often complain that what gets lost in translation is the essence of service, which is often not on a par with the Parisian teams. While many are disappointed with the lack of knowledge of Saudi sales teams, luxury brands assure that the proper training does occur.
Some brands, such as Dior, even execute rigid measures to guarantee no deviation from the brand’s identity or philosophy occurs. Every action is dictated by Paris headquarters, which is then relayed to the head office of the Middle East in Dubai, and enforced uniformly throughout the rest of the region. “Even our business cards are printed in Paris,” stated Assistant Manager at Dior Jeddah, Mohammed El Zein, referring to the degree to which Dior aims to translate its brand into the Saudi market without imperfection.
Almost quarterly, Paris sends training representatives to its Dior boutiques across the Middle East, while Jamjoom Trading holds in-house training almost on a weekly basis. “We value service even more than other countries do because are sales are almost solely based on the same loyal clientele,” revealed El Zein. “We don’t have the huge tourism market like Dubai, so we rely on our regular customers.”
But other services, such as repairs, remind locals that Saudi Arabia is still a developing market. Chanel repairs take more than four times the wait time one would be forced to endure, should they send in an item from Paris. And Lanvin collections that can often be purchased on sale a month prior in Paris or even online, can be found in the its multibrand store, making it hard not to question whether the legacy of French fashion has in fact gotten lost in translation, converting the legacy of luxury into a story of second-choice leftovers?
Many consumers criticize the lack of variety from these boutiques, often feeling they are not getting the premium selection. Yet Chanel store manager, Lara Chemali, would disagree. In fact, as buyer for all the Chanel stores in the Kingdom, she revealed why you’ll find long versions of cocktail and evening dresses in Jeddah and Riyadh, but nowhere else, including Paris. “The special lengths are made exclusively for the Kingdom,” Chemali stated, “They are specifically customized for this region.” Similarly, Christian Louboutin’s boutique carries a limited edition shoe made especially for its Saudi clientele. Rubaiyat also gets its exclusive designers to make capsule collections and items for their boutiques across the Kingdom, such as last Ramadan’s Armani abaya.
Furthermore, the Internet boom has migrated shoppers online, allowing them to see the most up-to-date offerings and their international retail prices. This, in turn, has acted as a quality check for luxury brands here, forcing distributors to present collections without big delays and reasonable mark-ups.
Whether one feels robbed of the French ambiance of high-end fashion in the Kingdom, or is content with their sudden access to otherwise unattainable sophistication, there is a common language between Saudi Arabia and France, and that is luxury. We both speak it fluently and Saudis will pay pretty much anything to get it without delay. Globally, emerging markets, such as Saudi Arabia, are likely to represent at least 80 percent of growth by 2015, according to CSI. A testament to this can be seen in the recent establishment of French jeweler, Cartier, and the greatly anticipated arrivals of Hermès, and Van Cleef and Arpels. Their introduction to the Kingdom’s market is a sign that there really is no language barrier. As long as France is selling, Saudi Arabia is buying, and why not? What’s more cultured than a Dior Bar Jacket or Louis Vuitton luggage set?