The U.S. Green Building Council recently awarded the French luxury fashion house Saint Laurent the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum Certification for three of its global flagship stores.
The Rodeo Drive women’s boutique in Beverly Hills, London’s Old Bond Street store and the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré unit in Paris were all designed with low-energy lighting, minimal water consumption and better indoor air quality. As a result, the Rodeo Drive boutique, which reopened in 2014, has decreased its energy consumption by 57 percent thanks to solar panels installation on the roof of the building.
According to Women’s Wear Daily, Hedi Slimane, who took over the role of creative director in 2012, developed the architectural concept for the eco-friendly stores.
As stated on the site, The U.S. Green Building Council’s mission is to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life. To receive LEED Platinum Certification, one has to register his or her project with the council. Today there are 76 chapters, 12,870 member organizations and 197,000 LEED professionals.
In addition to decreasing its carbon footprint, the fashion house announced it will return to couture for the first time in 10 years. While it has not been confirmed whether or not the brand will design bespoke creations for celebrities and clients similar to what Ricardo Tisci does for Givenchy, but we do know the brand will design pieces would be for both men and women.
The haute couture threads will be designed at the brand’s new atelier. The space will be housed in a 17th-century mansion, Hôtel de Sénecterre. According to Vogue UK, the label will have three separate areas: the Salon Couture, for clients to try on pieces; the Atelier Flou, for dressmaking; and the Atelier Tailleur, for tailoring.
The final couture collection was created in 2002 and headed by the brand’s founder Yves Saint Laurent.
Photo via Saint Laurent
