Casa - 6/6/25
This June, Casablanca will open its debut flagship in Paris, on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, one of the world’s most historic streets for fashion and design and an emblem of French elegance and sophistication. Set on a significant corner within the prestigious 8th arrondissement, the store is designed in harmony with its surroundings.
The three-level retail space is set within a monochromatic building which sprawls out from the street’s characteristic Haussmann architecture, known for its Lutetian limestone façades, high ceilings, and arched windows.
Meticulously orchestrated, the space is a distillation of the brand’s DNA and ethos: a merging of the past and the future; of Parisian elegance with cinematic references and a bold, forward vision. More significantly, the flagship marks a ‘homecoming’ for Casablanca founder and creative director, Charaf Tajer, who was born in Paris and raised in the multicultural neighbourhood of Belleville, by parents of Moroccan descent.
“When my parents came to France, my mother worked as a maid, so starting and building a fashion house went against the odds. Then, five or six years ago, I said, ‘I want a corner on that street’, and everyone said it was impossible, because all the corners are taken by the biggest brands. Opening this store is a huge accomplishment for us: like I’m coming back home, but more than that, bringing something greater to Paris than how I left it. It’s a sign of progress, and goes back to our purpose, which is always to inspire people.” —Charaf Tajer, founder and creative director, Casablanca
Tajer and Brand Art Director, Steve Grimes, worked closely to create a space that reflects Casablanca’s house codes and signature design language. The resulting flagship balances heritage, luxury, and modernity alongside sport, especially tennis; it fuses both classical and futuristic design codes to create a physical manifestation of a timeless story.
The centrepiece, designed as a deconstructed tennis court, is a sculptural composition of marble, velvet and high-gloss lacquered wood that pays homage to the work of one of Tajer’s favourite architects, Carlo Scarpa, and connects the ground and first floor spaces.
A tiled Carrara Bianco marble mosaic floor represents ancient Greece, and contrasts a fully illuminated, ‘stretched’ lightbox ceiling – a reference to futurism, Japanese aesthetics, and the cinematography of Stanley Kubrick and his visionary film, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Arched niches and wall mouldings around the floor perimeter are Casablanca’s interpretation of new and old: traditional Parisian design elements tell the story of the past, and are intercepted by the modernity of the vibrant blue gradient and the brand’s signature, rich palette of red, green and blue.
Below ground, a rich sea of plush green carpet envelops customers in a tactile cocoon: as it encroaches up the walls, the carpet warps and distorts over transparent units that serve both as functional product displays and as art installations for friends of the brand and VIP customers to enjoy.
For Tajer, the space is a crossover between the city he grew up in, Casablanca’s sport aesthetic, and a symbol of his ambition and desire to challenge and break boundaries. It is an incredible achievement for the brand he founded just seven years ago.
“Opening our first store in Paris is a bit surreal, but I’m not a dreamer – I’m a man of projects, and I’m driven by a pursuit to manifest the things I believe in. This is a real milestone: it stands for the fact that anything is possible. In gratitude for this.” — Charaf Tajer, founder and creative director, Casablanca
Casablanca Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré opened on 5 June 2025, with a second store opening on 469 North Canon Drive in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, later this summer. The Parisian flagship was created in partnership with London-based design firm, Counterfeit Studio, and Moroccan architect Elements Lab.
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