IADS Press Release: Cité de l'Architecture exhibition

The International Association of Department Stores (IADS) joins forces with Paris's prestigious Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine to present a groundbreaking exhibition chronicling the global evolution of department stores. From November 6, 2024, to April 6, 2025, ‘La Saga des Grands Magasins, de 1850 à nos jours’ offers an immersive journey through the world of department stores. This landmark exhibition traces their transformation from nineteenth-century retail pioneers to today's reinvented cultural destinations.

Featuring over 500 carefully curated pieces, the exhibition showcases never-before-seen architectural drawings, vintage photographs, design objects, artworks, and rare artefacts from renowned department stores worldwide. This IADS's unprecedented collaboration has unlocked access to exclusive international archives, bringing together treasures from iconic institutions, including Bangkok's The Mall Group, Beijing's SKP, Berlin's KaDeWe, Copenhagen's Magasin du Nord, Hong Kong's SOGO, London's Harrods and Selfridges, Mexico's El Palacio de Hierro, and Turin's Green Pea.

A Global Journey Through Department Store History

The exhibition unfolds in three sections, offering a rich narrative of the department store’s evolution over the past 150 years. Visitors embark on a journey illustrating how department stores have been at the forefront of architectural innovation, urban development, and cultural transformation.

• ▪ The Golden Age (1850-1930): This section delves into the origins of department stores in the world’s capital cities. In Paris, they emerged under Napoleon III, a period marked by rapid urbanization, industrialization, and technological advances. Consumption was reinvented through the mix of spectacular buildings combined with revolutionary sales techniques such as fixed prices and large-scale window displays, and the notion of shopping was born. These architectural marvels were not just places to shop but symbols of modernity and progress, introducing a new way of life to an eager middle class. This part of the exhibition also highlights the global spread of the department store model and how it innovated in organising labour in a new way
• The department store, an unstoppable machine (1930-1980): The interwar period marked the zenith of department stores as centres of luxury, fashion, and social life. This section showcases how these stores became integral to major cities' cultural fabric, offering goods and a social experience. However, they had to reinvent themselves after WWII, as new competitive formats appeared: supermarkets (1957), followed by hypermarkets (1963), which contributed to redirecting the traffic to the peripheries of the cities. The exhibition tracks the architectural and operational changes that department stores underwent in response, focusing on transforming retail spaces into more efficient “selling machines” driven by the burgeoning field of consumer psychology and marketing. They also diversified into lifestyle by contributing to developing ready-to-wear and design.
• The reinvention in the Digital Age (1980 to the Present): As the exhibition moves into the modern era, it examines how department stores, once considered the pinnacle of retail innovation, have confronted the challenges of globalization, economic crises, and the digital revolution. The exhibition highlights how they have redefined themselves in the 21st century by embracing technology, integrating e-commerce, and focusing on customer experience rather than just product sales. Online shopping has fundamentally altered consumer behaviour, and department stores have responded by becoming cultural hubs, hosting pop-up events, art installations, and exclusive brand collaborations. The exhibition also looks to the future, considering how department stores position themselves to remain relevant in an increasingly digital world.

IADS’s role in bringing a global perspective to the exhibition

The IADS has been instrumental in expanding the exhibition's international dimension. Through its archives and contacts, the Association has provided the museum with rare archival materials and valuable connections to international stores that have redefined retail history, offering visitors a global view of how these retail spaces have evolved.

'Department stores have been more than mere shopping destinations – they have been architects of urban landscapes, catalysts of consumer culture, and beacons of innovation across the globe,' says Ms. Kamshim Lau, IADS President and CEO of SOGO Hong Kong. 'This exhibition with the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine celebrates their enduring legacy and their continued relevance in shaping retail's future.' This global perspective is essential to understanding the full impact of department stores, as their influence extends far beyond Europe to cities across Asia and the Americas. It is also an opportunity for the IADS, a professional research organisation, to provide the general public with more information about the world of department stores, their dynamics, and their relevance in the 21st century in a context of scarce factual and scientific information about them.

A Unique Multidisciplinary Exhibition

The exhibition stands out for its rich, multifaceted narrative, weaving together architectural innovation, social progress, and cultural transformation. From their groundbreaking use of iron and glass in the 1800s to today's architectural masterpieces, department stores have consistently redefined the boundaries of design. Their carefully crafted interiors transformed shopping into a theatrical experience, where commerce meets spectacle. Visitors will also discover how these retail pioneers revolutionized not just commerce, but also workplace dynamics, particularly for women, who found unprecedented professional opportunities within their walls. The IADS's support of 'La Saga des Grands Magasins' reflects its commitment to showcasing the department store model's evolution and sharing its members' innovative spirit with a global audience.

About the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine

The Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine, located in the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, is one of the world's largest centres for the dissemination of architectural knowledge. This institution is unique in its scale, combining multiple facilities under one roof: a museum (the Museum of French Monuments), a school (the École de Chaillot), a platform for architectural creation, a specialised library, and an archives centre. As a key player in disseminating architectural culture, its role extends beyond protecting and promoting France's unique architectural heritage to addressing challenges related to architecture, heritage preservation, and the city of tomorrow.

Press contact: caroline.loizel@citedelarchitecture.fr

About IADS

The International Association of Department Stores (IADS) is the only expert body specializing in the department store retail format in the world. Consisting of leading department store members located around the globe, the Association acts as an international network, facilitating exchange and communication between IADS members, and conducts research to address current challenges department stores are facing to provide actionable insights for its members. Today, IADS permanent members include Beijing Hualian Group (PRC), Bloomingdale’s (USA), Boyner (Turkey), Breuninger (Germany), Chalhoub Group (UAE), Centro Beco (Venezuela), El Corte Inglés (Spain), El Palacio de Hierro (Mexico), Falabella (Chile, Colombia and Peru), Galeries Lafayette (France), Lifestyle International Holding (Hong Kong), Magasin du Nord (Denmark), Manor (Switzerland), The Mall Group (Thailand). These retail leaders are joined by a network of other department stores and retail companies as corresponding members. Together, the IADS members, all key players in their respective markets, create a landscape of various business models and cultures and represent more than €35bn cumulated annual turnover, achieved through more than 514 stores with 181,000 associates in 23 countries. Through its own activities and partnerships with NellyRodi, Retail Hub and RH-ISAC, the Association constantly stays up to date on its members’ questions and challenges and generates solution-driven problem-solving processes for its members so that they are prepared to face the future of the retail industry.

Press Contact: IADS, press@iads.org

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