Vitkac
Vitkac is a luxury department store at 9 Bracka Street in Warsaw, opened in 2011 and celebrating its 5th jubilee year of existence in November 2016. The founders of the house - the Likus family, chose the name "Vitkac" to commemorate the eccentric Polish artist Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz. Famous luxury brands opened their boutiques for the first time in Poland in Vitkac. Here we can find products of: Yves Saint Laurent, Balmain, Bottega Veneta, Dior, Lanvin, Sonia Rykiel, Jimmy Choo, Valentino, Versace, Vivienne Westwood. Likus Home Concept is a department store’s space dedicated to exclusive interior and design. In Vitkac we can rest in the Concept 13 Restaurant and we can purchase delicious food products in Delikatesy 13.
picture: www.Vitkac.com
Another exclusive department stores arise at prestigious streets of the Polish capital, which favours the formation of the luxury trade centre. Examples of such investments are:
• Ethos - Plac Trzech Krzyży, the developer - Kulczyk Silverstein Properties,
• Astoria – Przeskok Street, the developer - Strabag Real Estate,
• CEDET - Bracka Street and Al. Jerozolimskie, the developer - Immobel,
• Centrum Marszałkowska (Marszałkowska Centre) – Marszałkowska and Świętokrzyska Streets, the developer - BBI Development.
In the end we will tell you about Herse - the legendary fashion house, which was an important part of Warsaw in the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The heirs of the house are reenacting it now after almost eighty years, strongly supported by luxury brands strategists mainly from France, who worked for the LVMH Group.
Herse
Names of the fashion house from the old days sound exciting: the interwar legend, Warsaw Harrods, Polish Dior. Herse is not just fashion, but a big portion of the rich Polish history, its elites and artists.
Herse was created under the initial name of "Trade, Commodities and White Lace" in 1868 at 10 Senatorska Street in Warsaw. In 1899 the owners moved the company headquarters to a magnificent four-storey building in the style of Louis XVI at 150 Marszałkowska Street. The pre-war building of the Herse fashion house was the equivalent of London’s Harrods, which was built in approximately the same time as Herse. ‘Boguslaw Herse Fashion House’ became henceforth the most exclusive fashion house not only in Warsaw, but in Poland. Beautiful clothes based on the models of the best Parisian designers, were sewn here for individual orders only from the best materials. There were various sections in the fashion house dedicated to: dresses and outerwear, lace, ribbons, fans, gloves, umbrellas, belts, hats, veils, lingerie and corsets, carpets, products for men and children.
Boguslaw Herse Fashion House at 150 Marszałkowska Street in Warsaw – a picture from the company’s catalogue from 1899.
picture: www.herse.pl
Activity of the house finished in 1936. The flagship building of Herse was plagued by fires. In addition, many male members of the Herse family - Polish army officers were killed at the war front. The next half century of the communist period in Poland did not favour the revival of old traditions, let alone the business activities in the luxury goods market.
The heirs took the first steps towards the reactivation of the brand in 2013. Today Herse is a unique brand which creates unique products that combine quality, chic and elegance. We can purchase wonderfully soft in touch Herse scarves, shawls, dresses, ties and bow ties, sewn mainly from silk in the best Italian manufactories. Products are packed - according to tradition – in hand-made, collectible boxes.
The heirs of the Boguslaw Herse Fashion House - Jan Górski – the great-grandson of the founder of the fashion house, with his wife Anna Górska want to keep alive a common dream of several generations of beauty manufacturers.
The history of Herse fashion house and its family delighted us. We deeply believe that the current owners of the company will make soon the Herse brand famous and great again.
www.herse.pl
picture: www.herse.pl
Author:
Katarzyna Macek
Marketing director at the A&K Luxury Group company. An expert in luxury goods marketing.
A graduate of the daily studies in the field of 'Services Management' at Lyngby Business Academy
in Denmark, the daily Bachelor's Degree studies 'Philology in the field of the Business English'
at Business Language College of the University of Silesia, the daily Master's Degree studies in the field of 'MSc Marketing' at Oxford Brookes University in Oxford, England, as well as postgraduate studies in the field of 'International Business Negotiations' at Silesian International School of Economics.
She has been operating in the luxury goods market for many years, serving demanding and wealthy customers, VIPs and companies which offer luxury products and professional services.
She is interested in business subjects, travels, foreign languages, nature, cars and sports.
She is a great art lover - especially the lover of classical music, ballet, theatre, movies, fashion, architecture, historical real estate and retro style.
She values a healthy lifestyle in harmony with nature - the so-called 'slow life'.
Her passion is the promotion of the luxury, top quality, beauty, class, culture, good manners, Poland, luxury goods companies, corporate social responsibility and young talents.
Contact:
mobile.: +48 509 185 195,
e-mail: contact@luxuryexpo.pl