{"id":57828,"date":"2026-07-28T05:08:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T05:08:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/57828\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T05:08:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T05:08:16","slug":"italian-fashion-brand-forte_forte-opens-new-store-in-paris-marais-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/57828\/","title":{"rendered":"Italian Fashion Brand Forte_Forte Opens New Store in Paris’ Marais Area"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tMILAN \u2014 Forte_Forte<\/a> is strengthening its presence in France, opening a new store<\/a> nestled in Paris<\/a>\u2019 Marais area.<\/p>\n

\n\tSituated 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\u2019s Saint-Germain-des-Pr\u00e9s in 2018, further signaling its commitment to one of its best-performing markets.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe found this space in the Marais that we really liked and is perfectly attuned to the brand\u2019s ethos, so we wanted to create this little retail<\/a> gem with a very personal viewpoint to further connect with our local audience,\u201d Paolo Chiesa<\/a> told WWD. Chiesa is an operating partner at\u00a0Style Capital<\/a>,\u00a0which in April 2017 acquired a majority\u00a0stake in the brand<\/a>, and\u00a0who is currently overseeing\u00a0Forte_Forte and will officially become its\u00a0chief executive officer\u00a0effective Sept. 1.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"The<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tThe new Forte_Forte store<\/a> in Paris<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Forte_Forte<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter 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.<\/p>\n

\n\tFrance plays a central role for the brand, Chiesa said. After Italy, it represents the company\u2019s 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 \u201cnatural creative affinity\u201d between Forte_Forte and France, also due to Giada Forte\u2019s beginnings in fashion in Paris, working at Kenzo.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis has always been an essential and preferential market for us, also in terms of taste and inspiration,\u201d Chiesa said. \u201cThis cultural affinity inevitably finds [validation]\u00a0also among customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Inside<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tInside the new Forte_Forte store in Paris.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Forte_Forte<\/p>\n

\n\tThe brand\u2019s 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 \u2014 home to the brand\u2019s showroom \u2014 and Italy\u2019s Veneto region, where the label was established in 2002 and is manufactured.<\/p>\n

\n\tPositioned 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.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Forte_Forte<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tForte_Forte Resort 2027 Collection<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Forte_Forte<\/p>\n

\n\tThese 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tLike 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 retail<\/a> vision. In Paris, concrete flooring preserving the building\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Inside<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tInside the new Forte_Forte store in Paris.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Forte_Forte<\/p>\n

\n\tIn addition to its two stand-alone stores, Forte_Forte is also carried at Le Bon March\u00e9 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\u2019s archival pieces revisited by Forte and local designers. The project is poised to further build on the label\u2019s penchant for arty collaborations<\/a>, which in the past saw Forte linking with artist Pauline Guerries, Ukrainian talents as well as\u00a0Lessico Familiare\u00a0on a\u00a0capsule collection<\/a>\u00a0launched with a takeover of Le Progres caf\u00e9 in Paris during fashion week.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis 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\u2019s, 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<\/a> to flank its existing stand-alone boutique in town.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Forte_Forte<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tForte_Forte windows at Bloomingdale\u2019s in New York in April.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCamilla Ffrench\/Courtesy of Forte_Forte<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe\u2019re 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,\u201d Chiesa said.<\/p>\n

\n\tSuch moves are in sync with the retail acceleration that saw Forte_Forte also recently opening a pop-up in Sicily\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Inside<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tInside the new Forte_Forte store in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Forte_Forte<\/p>\n

\n\tAs part of his mandate, Chiesa\u2019s goal is to take the brand\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe\u2019re 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,\u201d Chiesa said. Forte_Forte\u00a0is carried at 550 retailers worldwide, including the likes of Rinascente, Le Samaritaine, El Corte Ingl\u00e9s, Illum, SKP and Tessabit, to cite a few.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Inside<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tInside the new Forte_Forte store in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Forte_Forte<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAt 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,\u201d he continued. \u201cOn 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\u2019ve been witnessing. Plus, this [direct approach] is undeniably a key way to enhance our brand positioning,\u201d Chiesa said.<\/p>\n

\n\tDitto for the brand\u2019s e-commerce, whose operations formerly assigned to a third party have been recently brought in-house and whose revamp is in the pipeline.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"The<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tThe Forte_Forte pop-up store in Taormina, Sicily.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDanilo Scarpati\/Courtesy of Forte_Forte<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MILAN \u2014 Forte_Forte is strengthening its presence in France, opening a new store nestled in Paris\u2019 Marais area.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57829,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[30,3215,13181],"class_list":["post-57828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-paris","tag-paris","tag-retail","tag-store"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57828"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57828\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}