Forte_Forte Doubles Down in Paris With Marais Store Opening

Forte_Forte is strengthening its presence in France, opening a new store nestled in Paris’ Marais area

Situated in 49 Rue de Saintonge, the 1,184-square-foot space adds to the existing flagship the Italian womenswear label opened in Rue de Grenelle in the city’s Saint-Germain-des-Prés in 2018, further signaling its commitment to one of its best-performing markets

“We found this space in the Marais that we really liked and is perfectly attuned to the brand’s ethos, so we wanted to create this little retail gem with a very personal viewpoint to further connect with our local audience,” Paolo Chiesa told WWD. Chiesa is an operating partner at Style Capital, which in April 2017 acquired a majority stake in the brand, and who is currently overseeing Forte_Forte and will officially become its chief executive officer effective Sept. 1

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After covering different roles, especially in merchandising at brands such as Balmain, Jil Sander, Dsquared2 and Marni, Chiesa will support cofounders and siblings Giada and Paolo Forte in expanding distribution as well as tweaking strategies product-wise

France plays a central role for the brand, Chiesa said. After Italy, it represents the company’s second market along with the U.S., each accounting for roughly 15 percent of the business, whose size Chiesa declined to disclose. In addition to the importance from a commercial viewpoint, Chiesa underscored the “natural creative affinity” between Forte_Forte and France, also due to Giada Forte’s beginnings in fashion in Paris, working at Kenzo. 

“This has always been an essential and preferential market for us, also in terms of taste and inspiration,” Chiesa said. “This cultural affinity inevitably finds [validation] also among customers.”

The brand’s ambition is to further enhance such a creative bond by establishing a hub in Paris and hiring local talent to support Forte and part of her design team based in town. This strengthens the ties between the City of Light, Milan — home to the brand’s showroom — and Italy’s Veneto region, where the label was established in 2002 and is manufactured

Positioned in the advanced contemporary segment, Forte_Forte is known for a feminine, laid-back aesthetic rich in fluid silhouettes, washed silks and refined colors. It started with a small collection of hand-finished T-shirts and gradually evolved into total looks, encompassing dresses with a bohemian vibe, knitwear, tailoring, outerwear and accessories ranging from footwear to jewelry

These will be on display in the new Paris store, located on the corner of Rue de Normandie, with the triangular planimetry of the 1929 building it is housed in granting the unit five expansive windows and plenty of natural light. 

Like the other Forte_Forte international outposts, the interior concept was developed by Giada Forte and her partner and art director Robert Vattilana, who have a knack for enhancing textural juxtaposition in their vision. In Paris, concrete flooring preserving the building’s original architecture is paired with brass elements, from rails and displays to a striking triptych mirror, whose softly curved reflections evoke a sense of intimate warmth that is amplified by the pink hue dominating the space.

In addition to its two stand-alone stores, Forte_Forte is also carried at Le Bon Marché in Paris. Chiesa teased that a special activation at the luxury retail destination timed with Art Basel this fall will spotlight a selection of the brand’s archival pieces revisited by Forte and local designers. The project is poised to further build on the label’s penchant for arty collaborations, which in the past saw Forte linking with artist Pauline Guerries, Ukrainian talents as well as Lessico Familiare on a capsule collection launched with a takeover of Le Progres café in Paris during fashion week.

This fall the brand will also focus on revamping its presence at department stores such as Harvey Nichols in London and expand its partnership with Bloomingdale’s, after the unveiling of a 430-square-foot shop-in-shop in New York at the end of March. In the same vein, in spring the company unveiled a new space at the Shinsegae Gangnam department store in Seoul to flank its existing stand-alone boutique in town

“We’re essentially working on personalizing our spaces within the department stores and moving toward a model based as much as possible on concessions to favor a direct connection with our customers,” Chiesa said

Such moves are in sync with the retail acceleration that saw Forte_Forte also recently opening a pop-up in Sicily’s Taormina and a new store in Los Angeles, situated between Melrose Place and La Cienega Boulevard and replete with a showroom dedicated to private events, trunk shows and VIP appointments

As part of his mandate, Chiesa’s goal is to take the brand’s sales to be equally split between the direct-to-consumer and wholesale channels within the next 18 months. Currently, retail and wholesale account for 40 percent and 60 percent of the business, respectively, Chiesa said

“We’re not going to look down on wholesale. We will continue to bet on this channel because it all started from there for us, and we will continue to work also with specialty stores and indie retailers that might be smaller but very curated and with a personal viewpoint,” Chiesa said. Forte_Forte is carried at 550 retailers worldwide, including the likes of Rinascente, Le Samaritaine, El Corte Inglés, Illum, SKP and Tessabit, to cite a few

“At the same time, as we aim to grow and scale up, we need to reach our consumers more directly in specific locations, to establish a better connection with them,” he continued. “On one hand, this allows us to learn firsthand what they are looking for and establish a dialogue. On the other, this provides us greater security as it helps us insulate from market fluctuations, which can be quite volatile as we’ve been witnessing. Plus, this [direct approach] is undeniably a key way to enhance our brand positioning,” Chiesa said.

Ditto for the brand’s e-commerce, whose operations formerly assigned to a third party have been recently brought in-house and whose revamp is in the pipeline

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