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GOT BALLET FEVER?
In the Repetto stores themselves, Jean-Marc makes sure at least 40 per cent of the staff at all times are current or former dancers, to make sure it doesn’t become ‘just another shop.’ “I want customers to feel the dance heritage when they walk in the store,” he explains. It’s for this reason that a towering wall of pointe shoes is the first thing visitors to the Rue de la Paix store see when they enter. And it’s also why Jean-Marc refuses to showcase products for sale in the iconic window displays. “If people want to buy something they have to get inside the store,” he says. “Outside, I’m selling an idea.” These installations can be productions in themselves, sometimes requiring hundreds of people to install them and resulting in the Rue de la Paix window being boarded up to passers-by for more than 24 hours while it’s completed. The most elaborate so far, Jean-Marc says, was the creation of an interactive series of moving ballet dancers in 2011, which responded to the arm movements of people outside the store using Kinect technology. Passers-by could simply swipe their arms to rotate the dancers. “It took three days to get it all working,” admits Jean-Marc. For other window displays, his team has also created hundreds of pointe shoes, and six custommade tutus – at AU$2000 a tutu. The most expensive window display so far cost well over AU$100,000. Jean-Marc won’t reveal
which window it was, but he will say it was “the best ad we never had.” “People see something like this and they’ll come back one day, even if they can’t afford the brand now,” he says. In the post-financial crisis world, splashing out on elaborate installations, European manufacturing and specialist education may seem frivolous for a retail brand, but it all goes back to Jean-Marc’s vision when he started the company – to create something beautiful. And not that it matters, but the company has grown, on average, 25 per cent each year over the past 12 years. “We could sell more, but I don’t want to sell to any store. I don’t want to source leather in some country that has suspicious ethics. I don’t want to look for cheap labour costs to make more money. It’s not the purpose,” he says. “Money is important for a company obviously, but money should be the consequence of doing a good job.” He says when the day comes to leave Repetto, he wants one of the big luxury groups to take on the brand. But although there have been nibbles, he’s not ready to give it up yet. For now, he’s more excited about what the store did for Mother’s Day in France this year. “If you bought your mother a pair of Repettos this year, we named a star after her,” he explains, excitedly scrolling through photos of the display. “The windows of the store were full of stars with women’s names on them. We really made mums the star for one day,” he adds. “This is what a brand has to do to stand out.” See? Magic.
I want customers to FEEL the DANCE HERITAGE when they walk in the store.
SEPT 15 THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET THE SLEEPING BEAUTY WORLD PREMIERE Fairies, bluebirds, a gilded court and a spell-shattering kiss: the world’s most extravagant ballet is awakened to new life by artistic director David McAllister.
SEPT 19 – DEC 2 THE ROYAL BALLET ROMEO AND JULIET A tragic tale of starcrossed lovers; Kenneth MacMillan’s groundbreaking ballet is a 20th century classic.
SEPT 22-29 NEW YORK CITY BALLET SWAN LAKE Peter Martins’ staging of ‘Swan Lake’ infuses the preeminent story ballet with New York City Ballet’s signature musicality, speed, and sharpness of attack.
THE COLLECTIVE
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