EXCLUSIVE: Dior’s New Bangkok Concept Store Offers Fashion, Art and Michelin Star Desserts

GOLD STANDARD: Reflecting Thailand’s growing importance as a market for luxury brands, Dior is opening a new space in Bangkok that will showcase its creations alongside the works of local artists and a café featuring sweet treats by Michelin-starred chef Mauro Colagreco.

Dior Gold House, billed as a concept store, is set to open Dec. 8 in a garden at 1029 Ploenchit Road in the Ploenchit district of central Bangkok, home to upscale apartments, high-end malls and boutiques, luxury hotels and embassies.

Its facade is inspired by the architecture of the brand’s historic Paris flagship at 30 Avenue Montaigne, echoing the brand’s supersized pop-up store in Seoul, opened in 2022. The temporary structure is due to remain in place for two years, evolving with the seasons and collections designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri and Kim Jones, creative directors of womenswear and menswear, respectively.

Among the featured artists are Korakot Aromdee, known for his swirling light fittings made of bamboo; Wishulada Panthanuvong, who makes art works from waste materials, and Saran Yen Panya, founder of 56th Studio, whose latest creation is a Christmas tree made of 25,000 handwoven Thai fans, currently on view at the King Power Rang Nam mall.

They are joined by Thai architect and designer Rush Pleansuk and French photographer Philippe Moisan of Sumphat Gallery, which specializes in collectible design; architect Boonserm Premthada, founder of Bangkok Project Studio; Vassana Saima and Savin Saima of Vassana, known for its bamboo basketry, used to make garlands and ornaments, and furniture designer Eggarat Wongcharit.

The Café Dior is helmed by Colagreco, the Argentine chef who earned three Michelin stars for his Mirazur restaurant in Menton, France, and who heads eateries worldwide, including Bangkok’s Côte.

The Thai luxury goods market is estimated to be worth $3.4 billion in 2024, and is forecast to register a compound annual growth rate of 3.4 percent between now and 2029, according to market research firm Statista.

Dior, which is owned by luxury conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, has five permanent boutiques in Thailand, of which four are in Bangkok and one in Phuket.

The luxury house last year tapped Thai actors Nattawin Wattanagitiphat, better known as Apo, and Phakphum Romsaithong, nicknamed Mile, as men’s ambassadors for the country.