Credit: Geoff Thompson
On Thursday evening, following its opening to customers last Saturday, the Royal Hamilius project in Luxembourg city centre celebrated with an official opening party.
The flagship department store boasts 6,500 m2 (just one tenth the size of its flagship store in Paris) of retail space over six floors (0 - 5), plus a rooftop bar and restaurant area unveiled yesterday evening, and is the second store opened at the Royal Hamilius project following the opening of Fnac a short while previously. Galeries Lafayette houses a selection of 300 premium and luxury brands covering fashion, homeware and beauty.
The official speeches involved leading representatives of Galeries Lafayette from Paris, who were delighted in announcing that this was the sixth new store they have opened this year, with just half in France and the others in Italy and the Far East, and now Luxembourg. The store started life 125 years ago.
The speeches also made reference to the revered British architect, Norman Foster, who designed the overall Royal Hamilius project. And senior management from Codic, the management company in charge of the Royal Hamilius project, also spoke, as did the mayor of Luxembourg city, Lydie Polfer, who referenced the roadworks giving way to LuxTram by the end of next year.
The 6-floors were then opened to the invited guests who were encouraged to browse and mingle, with a 14-piece orchestra and contemporary dancers providing the entertainment.
The overall look-and-feel is of space and modernism, with plate glass, steel and concrete abounding, with slate from Luxembourg's quarries being used along with interior design style of French artists such as Charlotte Perriand, Jean Prouvé and Pierre Chapo.
