As time goes by, more and more fashion designers have their own restaurant. In fact, some of them already have several establishments around the world. The greatest design firms have explored this business gold mine in the last years, and given the high number of open establishments, it must be a great economic success. The truth is that almost any of the fashion firms that come to our minds have a café, restaurant or cocktail bar.
The favourite countries of fashion designers
If we take a look to the location of their restaurants, we can see that they coincide with the cities in which the most outstanding fashion shows of the calendar take place. That is, Paris, London, Milan or New York. But to those essential places in the world of fashion we must add Dubai, Shanghai and Tokyo.
Bulgari restaurant in Dubai
Anyway, let’s see the specific examples:
Beige by Chanel
A sample of the presence in Asia is Chanel’s Beige restaurant located in the elegant Tokyo neighborhood of Ginza. A place designed by Peter Marino, who wanted to evoke Coco Chanel in each element. And what about the food? A French-Japanese fusion thanks to the creations of Alain Ducasse.
Beige by Chanel
Café Dior
Peter Marino has also designed the premises for another of the great French fashion designers: Dior. But now for his café in South Korea, Korea. A café with a tremendously sweet shape and content, since the products are designed by one of the most famous French chefs: Pierre Hermé.
Cafe Dior in Seoul
1921 Gucci Café
When we think about Gucci, the Italian elegance comes immediately to our minds. This spirit has inspired his cafés in Milan and in the headquarters of the Gucci Museum in Florence. He has taken the Tuscan tradition to Shanghai where he has opened his first restaurant in the IAPM shopping center.
Gucci Café in Milan
Bar Martini by Dolce & Gabbana
Dolce & Gabbana began their adventure in the world of the restautant business wih the Bar Martini in Milan, which was followed by the Martini Bistrot with the option of lunch and dinner. A success among the most distinguished people of the Milanese society. Surprisingly, the Bar Martini has crossed the Atlantic to have a replica in Bogota.
Bar Martini
Thomas’s Burberry
A restaurant named after the founder of the Burberry company could not be anywhere than in Regent Street in London. An establishment where you can go to have the most British dishes, but the most spectacular thing is to go to have tea and live in first person the ritual that accompanies this drink.
Entrance to Thomas’s
Vivienne Westwood Café
Another of Britain’s most recognized fashion designers has also opened her catering business. The spirit of Vivienne Westwood is radically different from Burberry, something that is denoted in the most risky gastronomic proposals of her two premises. Both in Asia, the first in Shanghai and the second in Hong Kong.
Vivienne Westwood Café in Shanghai
Il Ristorante de Bulgari
We continue in Asia. Back again in the Ginza neighborhood of Tokyo. There we can find Bulgari’s largest store, which host the Il Ristorante Luca Fantin. The truth is that the most famous Italian jewelers have a real hotelier empire, with different hotels and restaurants like their exotic Bali resort. Not to mention their chocolate shop Il Cioccolato in Dubai, where sweets become real gems.
Il Ristorante de Bulgari in Bali
The Polo Bar by Ralph Lauren
Let’s talk about the best known American fashion designer, Ralph Lauren. This entrepreneur has an empire in the restaurant business world with his Ralph’s in Paris, the RL in Chicago or the Ralph’s Coffe in New York. We find his most precious place in the Fifth Avenue: The Polo Bar, where eating a hamburger is the most glamorous thing in the world.
The Polo Bar by Ralph Lauren
Le 68 Guy Martin de Guerlain
Guy Martin is one of the greatest French chefs. He has teamed up with Guerlain to design the menu for this Champs Elisées restaurant in Paris. We can choose different menus, but one of the most unique is the one inspired by Guerlain perfumes. A very sensorial experience.
Le 68 by Guy Martin and the Maison Guerlain
More fashion designers and their restaurants
As we said at the beginning, many fashion designers have become restaurant business entrepreneurs. Giorgio Armani, who has his own Emporio in that sector with establishments in Italy, France, the United States, Chile or the Arab Emirates, has also joined this trend.
Armani restaurant in New York
Roberto Cavalli, another of the great transalpine fashion designers, has also several cafés, restaurants and clubs around the world. Without leaving Italy, you can have a drink in a Milanese establishment created by the Prada Foundation. While the Louis Vuitton Foundation opened a restaurant with Michelin star in Paris.
Examples in Spain
Spanish fashion designers have also followed this trend, and there are several examples. One of them is Adolfo Domínguez who has chosen Serrano street in Madrid to open his Coffee Lounge, with a vegetarian inspiration.
And we end up in Barcelona at the Bistrot & Champagne Bar opened by the Santa Eulalia house. A place to eat, to have tea, a drink, and even to have breakfast in the most glamorous way.
Bistrot & Champagne Bar of Santa Eulalia
Who said that fashion and eating good were incompatible?