From Gilded History to Global Cool
Galeries Lafayette may not be a new name on Paris’s tourism map—it opened its doors in the 19th century—but for Millennial and Gen Z travellers, including Indians, it’s a stylish stopover where fashion, art, culture, and food converge.
By Deepali Nandwani
In 1893, when Théophile Bader and Alphonse Kahn founded Galeries Lafayette
as a style destination for everything fashionable, tinged with a refined restraint and gilded glamour, little did they know that it would be the toast of not just the trendy and the elegantly inclined—once delicately referred to as ‘the lotus eaters’—now found in the series like The White Lotus, it would also transform into kind of a cultural and tourism hub.
What began as a small haberdashery shop at 1 Rue La Fayette in Paris, strategically located near the Opéra Garnier and major boulevards, is today also a stopover on a traveller’s itinerary world over, including, if you were to believe the good people running the show, Indian Millennial and Gen Z travellers.
A spokesperson for Galeries Lafayette says, “Today, the grand department store is reimagining itself as a living cultural canvas—one where fashion meets future, beauty meets biotechnology, and shopping becomes a curated, cosmopolitan experience. For India’s millennial and Gen Z luxury travellers—an audience that blends aesthetics with aspiration and storytelling with spend—Galeries Lafayette is fast becoming a must-visit cultural observatory.”
Galeries Lafayette lures modern Indian travellers with an experience that goes beyond mere shopping. Its ever-evolving mix of captivating art installations, exclusive designer pop-ups, and immersive cultural events crafts a uniquely curated journey, perfectly aligned with the global Indian luxury seeker’s craving for connection and inspiration.
If you’re in Paris this summer of 2025, make sure to visit—expect a vibrant lineup of art, fashion, and immersive experiences, plus new, expansive sections waiting to be explored.
Windows as art: Ruslan Baginskiy’s poetic takeover
The store’s windows, canvas for art since it first opened its doors, transform into a 12-panel canvas for Ukrainian designer Ruslan Baginskiy, marking a decade of his trailblazing brand. Known for reimagining traditional headwear with sleek, modern silhouettes, his installation is a visual and emotional statement. Crafted entirely in Ukraine, the collection weaves resilience into refinement—a quiet yet powerful statement of artistry and identity.
Fashion with a Global Pulse
Fashion is the heartbeat of Galeries Lafayette, and this season, it speaks with a cadence that resonates with India’s explorers.
- Lamia Lagha, a Tunisian-German designer now calling Paris home, unveils her debut collection exclusively here. Her designs marry organic Portuguese cotton with sharp, modern tailoring—sustainable yet sophisticated dresses that flow effortlessly from city to shore. They’re the kind of pieces luxury seekers love: versatile, glamorous, and made to travel.
- Brazil’s Haight redefines resort wear with minimalist swimwear in neutral tones and architectural cuts. Gender-fluid and seasonless, these pieces move seamlessly from Copacabana to Colaba, Goa to the Greek isles—perfect for the Indian jet-setter’s global wardrobe.
- For men, Brett Johnson’s ‘Portofino Paradise’ debuts in France on the Men’s Store ground floor. This Spring Summer ’25 collection channels Italian tailoring through a sun-drenched Riviera lens. The experiential space invites you to touch, feel, and linger in Mediterranean nostalgia.
Beauty Reimagined: The -1 Beauty Space
Tucked beneath the iconic dome, the revamped -1 Beauty Space is a sanctuary of innovation, which showcases skincare, fragrance, and cosmetics. This space is a glimpse into beauty’s next chapter—perfect for Indian travellers tuned into K-beauty, clean science, and wellness.
- Atelier Materi redefines French perfumery, crafting scents around a single raw material—subtle, sculptural, and luxurious in their simplicity.
- Hourglass, launching fully in October, brings vegan, cruelty-free cosmetics that marry science with style. Its design-forward packaging is already a hit among Indian influencers chasing ethical glamour.
- Mircea elevates bathing into a mythic ritual with botanical crystals and refillable glass bottles, blending nature and storytelling.
- Biodance, a Korean beauty pioneer, delivers radiant skin through dermo-intelligent masks and serums designed to nourish from within.
Foreo’s FAQ™ line offers LED-therapy tools and facial sculpting devices, turning skincare into a high-tech, high-performance art.
Gastronomy and Art
At Le Gourmet, food and art weave stories with effortless charm, catering to India’s growing appetite for plant-based and experiential dining.
- Outdoors, in the balmy Paris weather, Alain Ducasse’s artisanal ice cream kiosk serves fresh-herb sorbets and praline-laced treats—summer captured in every bite.
- On the first floor, Terre à terre, a vegetarian-leaning concept by Top Chef alum Merouan Bounekraf, opens in July. Its veggie dishes and refined mocktails align perfectly with the discerning traveller's wellness-conscious palate.
- On the second floor, François Daubinet and Coutume Café craft haute patisserie and expertly brewed coffees, offering a moment of café-society elegance that feels both indulgent and intentional.
The season’s most evocative touch comes from photographer Yue Lingjun. Her dreamlike images, captured during a night in Le Gourmet’s silent aisles, hang like poetic fragments by the escalators. They shift the lens from consumption to contemplation, turning retail into art.
Galeries Lafayette's vibrant cultural programming, focus on storytelling-driven retail, and celebration of diverse voices make it a magnet for luxury travellers who curate rather than consume. For Indian travellers, who are today shaping global travel, this is a new Parisian narrative, one that goes beyond mere shopping. It’s about scouting the future of fashion, beauty, and culture—all under one Art Nouveau dome, which, incidentally, was designed by Jacques Gruber and is a stunning glass and steel structure which soars over the store’s central atrium.
