When fashion goes skiing

As every year, with the arrival of the holiday season, luxury brands and fashion houses dive headfirst into opening pop-up stores and true boutiques in the heart of the most beloved tourist destinations by their customers. Last summer, beach locations like Taormina, Portofino, and St Tropez hosted the new retail installations of brands, such as the launch of beach clubs with branded umbrellas. Now, just days before Christmas and New Year's, the houses have turned their best attention to the luxury ski resorts. Tyler the Creator stayed warm in California for his 12 Days of Christmas pop-up, but others have moved to the mountains, with skis and snowboards in hand.

From Aspen to St Moritz, here are all the new openings in the snow for December 2023.

Loro Piana in Zermatt 

This winter, Loro Piana will spend its vacations in Zermatt, in the heart of Switzerland, having just opened a pop-up store inspired by the architecture of the nomadic peoples of Mongolia and Inner Mongolia, where Loro Piana's fine cashmere comes from. An oval-shaped boutique with a minimalist design, it has attention to detail thanks to the Loro piana Interiors line. Outside, customers can relax in a lounge wrapped in the maison's warm blankets, while inside the Gher, named after Mongolia's characteristic buildings, the brand's latest collections and an innovative Ski Capsule are available, under the banner of high performance and elegance typical of Loro Piana DNA.

Jacquemus in Courchevel

How to tell about new tourist openings without mentioning Jacquemus? The brand is taking a true world tour through targeted openings, from Como and St Tropez to Seoul. This Christmas, the hyper-French house has opened a snowy pop-up store in Courchevel, one of the most sought-after - and chic - locations in the French Alps. In a 100-square-meter boutique, Jacquemus unveiled a candid white design, developed on two levels and set up with the new limited edition "Guirlande" capsule, inspired by the Christmas holidays. With an opening scheduled until the end of March 2024, the pop-up store confirms designer and founder Simone Porte Jacquemus's commitment to creating a unique retail experience that leverages the good mood of customers once they reach the peaks where the air is freshest.

Bottega Veneta in Aspen

For Bottega Veneta, it's not enough to open a boutique in Aspen, one of the most beloved snowy destinations in the United States for A-list celebrities and fashion-forward millionaires: like every project signed by the maison, there is a need for a twist focused on the promotion of arts and crafts. The recent opening of Bottega Veneta's new store is accompanied by a partnership with the Aspen Art Museum, a non-collecting exhibition space for contemporary artists - the first fruit of this collaboration will be an exhibition dedicated to John Chamberlain, open to the public until April 2024. The interiors of Bottega's new boutique fully embody the cozy chic style of Aspen, with warm and welcoming interior design in gray, beige, and brown palettes, bringing back the tactile and artisanal feel so dear to the maison amid the most elegant mountains in the United States.

Max Mara in Aspen

It seems that this winter, Italian brands are eager to travel overseas. Max Mara will also make a stop in Aspen for the Christmas holidays, in this case with a caramel-toned pop-up store at Hotel Jerome, a project that has been repeated for ten years now and that attracts new customers every winter thanks to a suggestive setting, inspired by the iconic Teddy coat, also celebrating its tenth anniversary. Open until Epiphany day, Max Mara's pop-up hosts two new versions of the coat that marked the maison's history, an exclusive reserved for the fortunate ones who will spend the holidays more than 2400 meters above sea level, while in the front garden stands an ice sculpture paying homage to Max's mascot and an egg complete with a photo set.

Moncler Grenoble in St Moritz

Impossible to conclude a list of luxury brands around the most coveted ski resorts without mentioning Moncler, the ultimate winter sportswear brand. This Christmas, Grenoble has decided to anchor its roots in St Moritz, inaugurating the first flagship store of the high-performance division in a snowy luxury hub. A boutique of over 300 square meters that pays homage to the timeless charm of the Swiss Alps, natural materials such as wood, stone, and marble blend in complete harmony, creating an environment with a futuristic look, directly inspired by Moncler's avant-garde creative direction. The first flagship store of Moncler Grenoble in St Moritz is accompanied by the launch of temporary boutiques in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, in Osaka, Japan, and in Sagmeister, Austria, open until the first days of March 2024.

Burberry in Courmayeur Cortina d'Ampezzo, Courchevel and St. Moritz 

Burberry's festive season is not limited to just one pop-up store, but goes on a real tour around Europe, stopping off to celebrate the Christmas season in the snowy destinations most loved by the maison's customers. At the beginning of December, Burberry opened temporary stores in G&B in Courmayeur and Franz Kaler in Cortina d'Ampezzo, while later the boutiques of Maltempi in Courchevel and MODES in St. Moritz will be unveiled. Oases covered in the British fashion house's classic check, the pop-up stores designed by Burberry offer the great staples of the coldest season of the year, from hot water bags to socks, coats and scarves.