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?World?s richest man in fashion? visits Manila, sees potential as fashion capital | Philstar.com

‘World’s richest man in fashion’ visits Manila, sees potential as fashion capital
Deni Rose M. Afinidad-Bernardo - Philstar.com
June 10, 2022 | 2:20pm

MANILA, Philippines — Bernard Arnault, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH), once the world’s richest man and still among the wealthiest for leading the world's largest luxury products group, visited Manila before the pandemic and saw its potential as one of the world’s upcoming fashion capitals.

Iza Arcilla, General Manager of shopping center Greenbelt, told Philstar.com of Arnault’s visit in an exclusive interview during Greenbelt 3’s recent launch of its high-end stores, including LVMH’s Louis Vuitton.

“It actually started when the president of LVMH came last 2018. It was a secret visit. He saw that there was this potential… and then he realized that they still have brands that are still not here,” Arcilla said.


Arnault reportedly came to Manila unannounced last April 2018 to visit Louis Vuitton (LV) and Bulgari stores in Greenbelt and Solaire. Both Bulgari and LV are under his French luxury goods conglomerate.

He was reportedly only accompanied by bodyguards and did not stay long, but the brief visit from the so-called “world’s richest man in fashion” pushed Ayala Malls to draw up a plan to renovate Greenbelts 3 and 4 as the country’s fashion capitals, said Arcilla. According to her, even LVMH’s rival brands have been wanting to have big stores in the Philippines, but the country did not have enough spaces for them.


Arcilla said Arnault told Greenbelt Malls that he sees a potential in Manila as a fashion capital. She believed that is because many Filipinos are now very well-traveled and exposed to global high-end labels, so the demand for luxury brands has been high even before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Pre-pandemic it was strong and even during the pandemic it got even stronger because people cannot travel anymore and we had money to spend,” she said, so even during the pandemic, luxury brands “are really doing well” in Greenbelt.

Experiential shopping
Although there are no tax rebates in the Philippines that make luxury brand shopping here more attractive to travelers from abroad, Arcilla assured that the country is now at par with Western countries when it comes to “experiential” shopping or making shopping an experience in itself.

According to her, there are now a wider range of luxury products and services in the Philippines, and these are also now as competitive as in other countries.

“The stores here are now well-equipped for global ordering. Stocks and new items can be ordered from our stores, including personalization,” she added.

Central to making shopping more experiential is Greenbelt’s elegant new look. Interior architect J. Antonio Mendoza was tasked to redesign the Makati malls’ façade and interior with black and khaki white Pantone colors and finishing that would seamlessly fit the global prestige of the brands it carries, as well as meet the needs, desires and expectations of Greenbelt 3’s discerning shoppers. The detailing of the halls is meant to highlight — and not compete — with the designs of the luxury brands’ shop windows.

The result is a minimalist aesthetic that flows consistently throughout Greenbelt 3’s exterior and interiors, accentuated with lush greens and harmonious co-existence with the environment through the adoption of more sustainable technologies and practices such as the installation of energy-conserving, fully electric transport systems in various malls.

“Greenbelt has enjoyed countless accolades for its architecture, spatial planning and seamless integration of lush green landscapes woven into the commercial floor plan. We knew we had to push design boundaries to capture our customers’ imagination with the renovation. We believe we achieved that,” Ayala Malls President Chris Maglanoc stated.

Among the luxury labels to be found in the newly refurbished Greenbelt 3 are Louis Vuitton, Dior, Kenzo, Fendi, Univers, Off-White, Thom Browne, L’Officine Universelle Buly, Max Mara, Rimowa, Patek Philippe and Bvlgari.

The new Max Mara store features around 100 square meters of show space, with one window on the inside of the mall and a glass façade with lightbox on the external side. It overlooks the main road, Makati Avenue, by the Greenbelt 3 entrance. Existing architectural elements of the building, such as vaulted ceilings and a skylight, naturally embellish the rooms and interact with the Italian brand’s heritage and contemporary spirit. A well-balanced mix of strain gre, brass, metal, oak wood and colorful marbles creates a welcoming atmosphere across the main living area, which is beautifully centered by a column in raw stone. Sophisticated furnishings from leading Italian design brands make the new store evoke Max Mara’s fundamental brand values of Italian craftsmanship and timeless construction. The new store shows the brand’s latest collections, including the main line and a selection of accessories.

Opening this June and July are Celine, Loewe, Jimmy Choo, and Ermenegildo Zegna. Tiffany & Co. is scheduled to open in October. Other stores earmarked to open are Roger Vivier, which is entering the Philippine market for the first time in 2022, and Cartier, which will unveil its latest collection in 2023.

As Cartier, Tiffany & Co. and Ermenegildo Zegna transition to their new locations in Greenbelt 3 in a couple of months, their Greenbelt 4 boutiques remain operational until the final move.
From 2022 to 2023, Ayala Malls will continue to refurbish Greenbelt 4, which will see the new looks of Burberry, Salvatore Ferragamo, Tod’s, Bottega Veneta, Givenchy and Prada. Gucci is also going to boast a more prominent space as it moves to the former location of Louis Vuitton, which moved to Greenbelt 3.

Meanwhile, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen and Saint Laurent are establishing their presence in Greenbelt 4, plus another new-in-the-Philippines fashion concept, French label Faure Le Page. In addition, Arcilla shared that Vacheron Constantin will open in Greenbelt 5 supposedly this month, Rolex will be expanding and moving in a bigger space just across its current ground floor location. Within the year, their rival timepiece brand Breitling will also be renovating its store.

Complementing the posh shopping experience are equally stylish dining concepts Las Flores, Wildflour, Sala Bistro, People’s Place, Starbucks Reserve, Amorica by Café Breton, and the newly-opened Ember by Chef Josh Boutwood. While the retail scene in Makati CBD (central business district) thrives, Greenbelt emerges as a prestigious convergence point for fashion, art, architecture and nature.