EXCLUSIVE: Nanushka Pops Up in Paris, Eyes Experiential Retail Expansion

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2 days ago

PARIS — Nanushka is planting roots in Paris — at least through winter — with a six-month pop-up opening Thursday inside Galeries Lafayette, the next big step in the brand's global growth plan.
'Paris is going to be a strategic focus for Nanushka in this upcoming period,' said cofounder and chief executive officer Peter Baldaszti. 'We know, based on data and demand for the brand, that France is a very fast-growing market for us. It felt like the right move to test the market more with a bit of a brick-and-mortar experience on a smaller scale.'
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The brand already has flagships in Budapest, London and New York, and has imported Nanushka's design DNA into an 88-square-foot physical space, a petite spot of prime real estate next to the highly trafficked Skims on the second floor of the historic department store.
Anchoring the design is a hand-carved wooden totem pole featuring the house's Kopjafa symbols, a nod to the brand's Hungarian roots. Other artisan details include bespoke shell lighting, Rubelli fabric from Venice on the walls, 17th-century Italian wrought iron nails, and French plaster applied by hand. Cushions were handmade in Budapest using surplus Nanushka fabric, finished with the label's proprietary vegan leather, Okobor.
'It also allows us to start at the right scale, so it's not immediately a huge jump into flagship opportunity,' Baldaszti added.
The pop-up will house three seasonal collections, pre-fall, winter and pre-spring through January, and particularly important through the holiday shopping season.
The space also sets the stage for the launch of Nanushka's third handbag, the Harmonica, which will launch globally in October. Inspired by Hungarian folk music instruments, the new bag follows the success of the Origami tote and the Sandi top-handle.
'Bags are very significantly a growing part of the business for us, but we are taking slow and conscious steps on that,' Baldaszti said. 'It's one of my favorite areas of fashion. Bags are particularly interesting because they have to somehow be able to represent the whole brand universe in a very small way.'
Despite being 'quite late to the bag game,' Nanushka's accessory business is 'growing in the triple digits,' he noted.
'We also tried to carve out our own niche in the space aesthetically,' he added, citing the Origami bag's distinctive silhouette and crochet detail — 'very Nanushka' — instantly recognizable but notably spared of any loud branding.
Beyond product, the brand is committed to deepening its physical presence in key markets. 'E-commerce is very transactional for me, and a very pragmatic, utilitarian experience, while a physical space has to be much more — you have to touch all the senses. You have to build chemistry with the customers,' Baldaszti said. 'For Nanushka, the future is certainly in the right brick-and-mortar stores, where we can find meaningful ways to connect with customers.'
Its business is 'very equally split' in thirds across e-commerce, retail and wholesale, he said.
The brand bravely opened its London flagship mid-pandemic, and the U.K. remains challenging, he said. But Baldaszti still maintains confidence there. 'We still have a huge trust in that market, and we have a strong customer base.'
The London flagship will undergo a facelift this fall with additional hospitality experiences. Nanushka explored experiential early on, with its bookshop-boutique-café combo in Budapest opening in 2018.
'Just experimenting with a space in Paris and connecting with the community,' he said of ideas they will be testing out. 'I think we will find new ways, when the right time comes, to enter the French market [with a flagship].'
France is among Nanushka's fastest-growing markets, now expanding 'well more than double digits' across online and wholesale. The brand also maintains a presence in Le Bon Marché and Samaritaine Paris.
Still, the U.S. remains Nanushka's largest market, with future plans to extend the Galeries Lafayette model to strategic U.S. wholesale partners. In China, the brand has opted for a digital-first strategy via its Tmall flagship, citing a 'quite challenging' retail environment which caused it to pull back its physical presence there, while it continues strong online performance.
Nanushka's growth continues to be firmly rooted in cofounder and creative director Sandra Sandor's sustainable design ethos. 'It has become more institutional and more strategic for us after we realized that it makes sense to talk about it, because we can also influence other brands and influence customers,' Baldaszti said.
Sustainability, including the use of Okobor — its proprietary vegan leather made from 56 percent recycled polyester and 44 percent polyurethane — remains an integral part of the brand's identity.
The brand, which presented in Paris for fall 2022 and held a runway show in New York for spring 2025 has opted out of showing for the upcoming season, which will be bursting with big designer debuts.
'With our resources, it's kind of impossible to compete with the powerhouses,' he said, still hinting at future plans. 'But there will be a good moment for us to return to the Paris Fashion Week schedule.'
In the meantime, they are 'looking into some alternative ideas on how to engage and how to present the collection' this fall, and will host an opening event in the Galeries Lafayette space in September.
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