 | |
 |  |
 |  |
For spring 2006 Frey Wille will introduce the new Hommage à Alphonse Mucha jewellery range, an art nouveau line inspired by the Czech artist | |
AUSTRIA. Viennese enamel jewellery company Frey Wille has announced details of its new collection inspired by Czech artist Alphonse Mucha as well as ongoing retail expansion.
Setting out the company’s retail strategy at the Cannes TFWA show last week, Global Communications Director and Business Development North America Susan Brunner told The Moodie Report: “This year we continued our dual-pronged retail strategy in domestic and duty free markets. Domestically, we opened a store in Bolzano, Italy and, two months ago, we opened our second shop in London, in Regent Street. Three weeks ago we opened in Graz, Austria, and this week we open in Santa Monica, California – it’s our first boutique for North America.”
The Middle East is also a target: a second boutique opened in Dubai about five weeks ago and the first store in Beirut flung open its doors four weeks ago.
Building on the brand’s success in the fashion-hungry Russian market, where Frey Wille is present at the GUM department store in Moscow and at Sheremetyevo Airport, a boutique will start trading in St Petersburg at the end of this month (November 2005).
Brunner reported that over Christmas 2004 Frey Wille’s best-selling airport outlets were Moscow Sheremetyevo and Budapest, where the brand opened at Hungary’s major airport only a few months before.
Retail expansion began in earnest last year in mainland China, where Brunner reported that Frey Wille was the number one jewellery brand at Beijing Airport during Christmas 2004 thanks to its new store. Next year, a downtown duty free outlet will open in Beijing in the Lufthansa Centre shopping complex. Next year, in Shanghai, China’s fashion capital, a new duty free boutique will begin trading at Pudong Airport. Following the establishment of its first flagship downtown shop in Hong Kong, at the Pacific Place mall, a new store will kick off at Hong Kong International Airport’s SkyPlaza retail city in mid-2006.
New product range exclusively previewed on TheMoodieReport.com
For spring 2006 Frey Wille will introduce the new Hommage à Alphonse Mucha jewellery range, an art nouveau line inspired by the Czech artist (1860-1939). Mucha is best known for a poster he designed for the theatre production Gismonda, starring Parisian actress Sarah Bernhardt. Poppies, flowers and wavy lines are all key design features of the enamel jewellery and accessories collection.
The pieces depict Mucha’s frontal representation of figures with stylised contours, ornamental surface patterns, as well as typical art-nouveau characteristics. Both design sets in the collection – Sarah Bernhardt and Libussa -were designed to highlight the milestones in Mucha’s career: his commercial artistic breakthrough resulting from Bernhardt’s patronage and work from his late period, particularly his Slavic Epic illustrations.
The Sarah Bernhardt design set is inspired by Mucha’s distinctive art-nouveau spirals, while the second set honours Libussa, the mythical Czech princess who is said to have founded Prague. The central motif in the latter set is Mucha’s favourite flower, the poppy, representing summer. The Sarah Bernhardt set is in two colour variations: the aquamarine set has light and dark blue tones, while the burgundy set combines a deep burgundy red and delicate pink. Libussa evokes the red petals of the poppy against a blue-black background interlaced by gold highlights.
In other product developments at last week’s TFWA World Exhibition the company displayed men’s ties, tie clips and cufflinks, as well as 18ct fountain pens and rollerballs. Also highlighted were three new sets for the Hommage à Claude Monet jewellery collection, which has proved popular in France and Russia, according to Brunner. “The French and Russians love Claude Monet,” Brunner enthused. Silk scarves also evoke the company’s best-selling designs.
For details contact Frey Wille, Gumpendorfer Strasse 81, A-1060 Vienna, Austria, tel: +43 1 599 2561; fax: +43 1 599 2550. Visit www.frey-wille.com
MORE STORIES ON FREY WILLE
Frey Wille opens new stores, launches fresh collections as revenues rocket – 04/10/05
Frey Wille makes writing an art form – 10/06/05
Frey Wille celebrates first Chinese domestic store – 04/11/04
