Italian Maison Acqua Di Parma, a member of the LVMH family of artisans and artists-inspired maisons, brings its Italian heritage and Milanese creativity to Seoul with the Acqua di Parma Yellow Café. The design by Dorothée Meilichzon fuses Italian charm with the dynamic spirit of Seoul.

Located at Lotte Avenuel Jamsil B1F, Acqua di Parma Yellow Café is much more than a café, proposing an immersion into the Maison’s unique aesthetic and heritage.

“Designing the Acqua di Parma space in Korea was an exploration of cultural synthesis and vibrant aesthetics. My vision was to build bridges that connect the architectural heritage of Italy, particularly Milanese design, with the dynamic spirit of Korea, especially Seoul. I drew inspiration from the Memphis movement, while paying homage to giant monuments, white stone, arches, vaults, and porticos that speak of timeless beauty. They are all coming together to create a space that is as much a cultural dialogue as it is a design statement,” says the designer Meilichzon.

AOC recalled a T Magazine winter 2023 feature on Dorothee Meilicjzon’s 19th century Parisian apartment. Sharing the 2400 square foot apartment with her husband and two children, the hotel designer explained that she was inspired by Catherine Deneuve’s fiery domestic fantasies in Luis Buñuel’s 1967 film ‘Belle du Jour’.

Indeed, you are seeing a ‘wavy plate’ on a shelf [below] in Seoul’s new Acqua di Parma Yellow Café. If you seek a concrete signal about the hoped-for evolution of the new cafe in Seoul, recall the March 2022 pop-up in Milan for the brand’s new fragrance Colonia CLUB.

In March 2022, the brand opened a temporary cafe in Milan to support the launch of its new fragrance Colonia CLUB, which is an acronym for Community Life Unique Bond.

The beauty brand partnered with Manifattura Geminiano Cozzi in Venice to create exclusive dishes featuring 18th century-inspired ornaments in the shades of yellow, white and black. It also tied up with Italian brand Luxury White — a Milanese atelier established by Lucia Cavaliere — to develop handwoven linen tablecloths. Numerous other Italian brands were part of the cafe’s design.

Acqua di Parma’s Community Life Classes

The calendar of events in Milan opened with a masterclass centered on the discovery of the Colonia CLUB fragrance, which features citrus and bergamot notes on top, an aromatic heart combining pink berries and black pepper with shiso and rosemary and a base of musk.

Open to the public by reservation, other events staged at the location included olfactory laboratories, including one dedicated to children; literary panels, such as the presentation of an important new book; a workshop with photographer Maurizio Galimberti, who lensed Acqua di Parma’s campaigns in the past; classes on flower arranging with designer Vincenzo Dascanio, and a mixology session offering a selection of drinks inspired by the brand’s fragrances.

One imagines a total immersion in the Acqua di Parma experience through the lens of the South Korean experience in this new LVMH offering in Seoul.

Vuitton enlisted "Squid Game" director Hwang Dong-hyuk to help build the scenography for the April 2023 show, the first-ever fashion production on the landmark Jamsugyo Bridge in Seoul.

Knowing Seoul as well as Anne does, the Louis Vuitton fashion show on the iconic bridge was surely a landmark event and source of enormous cultural pride and good will for Louis Vuitton in South Korea.