By Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only,” once said designer Coco Chanel. “Fashion is in the sky, in the street. Fashion has to do with the ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”
Little wonder then that luxury brands have been venturing outside the fashion industry – to restaurants, bars, and cafés. These spots can be found in different places around the world including Dubai, Seoul, Portugal, and others. Chic food lovers congregate to enjoy the synergy between aesthetics, culinary arts, and fashion.
Iconic luxury fashion brands like Louis Vuitton, Armani, and Vogue are known all around the world for their high-end fashion and design, and now these brands are making a name for themselves in the realm of fine dining eateries, bars, and cafés. A response to the surge in online shopping, luxury fashion brands looked to cafés as a way to seduce customers to visit their brick-and-mortar stores.
These photogenic cafés provide a unique dining experience with highly detailed luxury interior designs and Instagramable food. We’ve rounded up a list of our favorite luxury fashion brand cafés to add to your destination bucket list:
1. Beige by Alain Ducasse, Tokyo
Leave it to Chanel to go all out in the gastronomical space in Ginza, Tokyo alongside a famous chef. The swanky joint-venture between two iconic French names — Chanel and Alain Ducasse — saw the birth of Beige by Alain Ducasse. The two-Michelin star restaurant was designed by Chanel’s very own boutique designer Peter Marino. Aside from its contemporary and elegant interior, patrons can expect authentic French cooking with the finest Japanese ingredients.
2. Cafe Dior by Pierre Hermé, Seoul
Cafe Dior by Pierre Hermé found its home on the high-end fashion street of Apgujeong in Gangnam, Seoul. It opened its doors back in 2015 at the world’s largest Christian Dior flagship boutique. The building itself takes on a tulip-shaped design, giving it a more glamorous and polished look. Behind it is Cafe Dior by Pierre Hermé, which features a curated menu from the renowned pastry chef himself. In April 2017, the Ginza SIX luxury retail building welcomed the second-ever Cafe Dior by Pierre Hermé.
3. Emporio Armani Caffè and Ristorante, Milan
If you’re ever strolling through the streets of Milan, be sure to check out the Emporio Armani Caffè and Ristorante, located on the ground floor of the Emporio Armani retail headquarters. The eatery is divided into two sections — the ground floor is the cafe while the upper floor is where you will find the fine-dining restaurant and champagne bar. Expect authentic Italian cuisine to go alongside the finer touches of detail put into the entire restaurant, bar, and cafe.
4. Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura, Florence
This one Michelin star restaurant is part of the Gucci Garden Museum and retail outlet on Piazza Della Signoria. The restaurant offers a range of dishes created by three Michelin star chef Massimo Bottura, along with Mexican chef Karime Lopez. It doesn’t serve cocktails but you can pair your meal with wines from Italy or France. Making a reservation is advised. For the people in America, there’s a Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura in Beverly Hills, California.
5. Ralph’s Coffee & Bar, London
Ralph Lauren is a brand known the world over, with some help from the iconic Polo Bear design as well. As for its eatery, Ralph’s Coffee & Bar opened its doors in 2016 and quickly became one of the hottest dining destinations in Mayfair, London. Its decor draws inspiration from the Polo Bar in NYC with its walls featuring various equestrian art and memorabilia. On offer are a wide variety of coffee, cocktails, bar snacks, and shared plates in a curated menu with traditional American fare.
6. Vogue Café Porto, Portugal
Step inside the luxury fashion brand world of Vogue magazine when you visit Vogue Café Porto in Portugal. The modern and elegant café presents the fashion and craftsmanship that one has come to expect from the brand, with black and white tiled floors and pops of red in the upholstery.
“With an all-day menu representing the best of modern European cuisine and décor that feels like it has been lifted directly from the pages of the magazine, Vogue Café is the place for the fashionable to meet, connect, and be seen,” says Vogue.
The wide menu includes main entrees, soups, salads, desserts, and plenty of options for brunch. Visitors of the café can get their sweet fix with pancakes with toasted almond and lemon curd or choose something savory like suckling pig with fried corn and caramelized baby onions.
7. Blue Box Café by Tiffany & Co, New York
When the brand’s Blue Box Café opened in 2017 in New York City, Tiffany & Co., one of our fave luxury fashion brands, made eating “breakfast at Tiffany’s” a real thing. Designed by Tiffany & Co. Chief Artistic Director Reed Krakoff, the Blue Box Café has tucked away on the brand’s fourth floor of its flagship store.
“It’s entirely Tiffany blue. The chairs have blue slipcovers, and the china plates—Krakoff originals—are dipped in blue glaze,” says Vanity Fair.
The Blue Box Café closed for renovations in early 2020 and is expected to reopen in 2022 with a new look.
8. Vogue Café, Moscow
Vogue Russia has long been synonymous with the ultimate in style direction, known for its discerning content and high, high fashion. So what better location to open up the fashion bible’s only restaurant than Moscow? You’re likely to see Russian supermodels lighting up Vogue cigarettes outside and then sipping skinny lattes inside.
9. GQ Bar, Dubai
Wannabe-007s looking to play James Bond for the day (or night) should head to the GQ Bar Dubai. There are famous GQ cover stars on the walls and Cigar & Cognac evenings for the ‘discerning gentleman’ (or so they like to think), so you’ll be flashing your best spy smile in no time. Ladies, if all this doesn’t put you off, there’s a Women We Love appreciation night on Tuesdays when ladies get free stuff from 9 pm to 1 am. Now, all we need is the private jet to whizz us off to Dubai on a school night.
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All you need to do now is pack your stuff, and go to experience the amazing feeling of having your meal inside these luxurious places in the world.
