WORDS BY NERYS D’ESCLERCS
With multiple locations around Europe and a flagship in Luxembourg’s dynamic Strassen, Smets is a boutique bursting with international creativity — in fashion and in art. Watch now as the boutique’s creative director, Pascaline Smets, is joined by Belgian singer Tawsen for a tour around the Strassen store. She highlights designs from Doublet’s Masayuki Ino as well as Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons’ first joint collection, plus incredible artworks from acclaimed global artists, and shares insights on the boutique’s unique curation in an exclusive interview below.
Access All Areas: Smets Boutique In Luxembourg
Tell us about Smets boutiques in your own words.
Currently, we have six boutiques in Europe — five of them are in Luxembourg — and our online store. Tawsen was invited to our flagship store in Strassen, where you can find the latest arrivals in fashion, design and beauty as well as an eclectic selection of artworks. After having successfully developed our brand in Luxembourg, we opened a store in Brussels. Smets is mostly known for its highly curated selection and the artistic sensitivity of the artworks on view in all stores. The cultural approach is very important to us and we want to educate as many people as possible about new artists, designers and luxury.
How does Luxembourg’s fashion scene influence Smets and its offering?
Luxembourg is a very dynamic and multicultural city; people come from everywhere in Europe to work here. When you look at the geographical location, we are at the intersection of Belgium, Germany and France. They are high-cultured citizens that are very curious about new trends and designs. By taking this into consideration, we keep on bringing new ideas from around the world.
Tell us about Smets boutiques in your own words.
Currently, we have six boutiques in Europe — five of them are in Luxembourg — and our online store. Tawsen was invited to our flagship store in Strassen, where you can find the latest arrivals in fashion, design and beauty as well as an eclectic selection of artworks. After having successfully developed our brand in Luxembourg, we opened a store in Brussels. Smets is mostly known for its highly curated selection and the artistic sensitivity of the artworks on view in all stores. The cultural approach is very important to us and we want to educate as many people as possible about new artists, designers and luxury.
How does Luxembourg’s fashion scene influence Smets and its offering?
Luxembourg is a very dynamic and multicultural city; people come from everywhere in Europe to work here. When you look at the geographical location, we are at the intersection of Belgium, Germany and France. They are high-cultured citizens that are very curious about new trends and designs. By taking this into consideration, we keep on bringing new ideas from around the world.
What can a new client expect to experience when shopping with you, and what keeps your customers loyal?
Our clientele is generally young and very international. The age ranges from teenagers up to 45 years old. We really want to speak to everyone and offer each customer a special experience. There is no age to develop one’s sensitivity towards creations. What they love about visiting our store is that it is an experience in itself. They will be able to find all the luxurious brands such as Dior, Prada, Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent... However, they will always be intrigued by the newer brands that we discover throughout the year from fashion weeks and from art weeks. Furthermore, as they wander in our store, they will discover art from international emerging and established artists that will stimulate their artistic fiber. New customers can expect to be surprised, either by the diversity of the products we are offering or their design. They can ask our partners for advice about anything we are launching.
We’re seeing a renewed sense of freedom and creativity in fashion, as designers have had time to pause and reflect during lockdown. What are you excited to see this season?
We are excited about the renewed creativity for designers. We can feel that lockdown allowed them to think and express themselves differently. This ‘pause’ allowed artists to question society as a whole. This reflection led to a dazzling impact on the world of art and fashion. As a response, designers want to bring this feeling of liberty and insight. I am very excited about the latest Prada and Bottega Veneta collections and am looking forward to seeing what the other creative directors will come up with. Very excited also to add new brands like Courrèges, Nodaleto and Nensi Dojaka to the brand mix.
Which designers feature in your edits season after season?
As long as their creativity is fresh, we will keep on working with the same designers. Not only will the pieces be original, they will also incentivize a reflection due to their contemporaneity. Therefore, we keep on working with designers such as Kim Jones, Miuccia Prada and Alessandro Michele, for their strong impact on the artistic world. However, we stay on the lookout for rising stylists that have a deep reflection on today’s society.
Are there any new additions to your curation this season?
Yes! We are adding The Attico, founded by Gilda Ambrosio and Giorgia Tordini, who are bringing their latest collection of elegant minimalism. Their contemporary approach, with the experimentation of different materials, colors and patterns, brings a new vision of fashion. We are also about to receive the latest Prada holiday collection. Designed for end-of-year celebrations, it’s refined and elegant — a must-have.
Smets boasts a great selection of artwork. Can you tell us about some of your standout pieces?
As you may have seen in the video, one of our favorite artworks is the well of light ‘Ocio’ by Ivan Navarro. Using light as an artistic tool can be mesmerizing. The usage of reflections creates a real depth in which you just want to dive in. ‘La Bétonnière’, sculpted by Wim Delvoye is also really intriguing. It surprises by making the distinction between the massiveness of the vehicle and how fragile and detailed it looks. We want our guests to lose themselves in our art and make them forget about their everyday life.