Garnier Creations: Creating Experiential Retail for Top Luxury Brands

Luxury is woven into the fabric of Paris like no other city. Haute couture fashion, high-end jewelry, fragrance and fine gastronomic meals are synonymous with the French capital. But for visitors – those with the passion and the means – experiencing Paris’ luxury brands has mostly been limited to the simple act of shopping or dining.

Until now.

Philippe Hertzberg spotted a missing piece to the tourism puzzle: a service for high-end travelers looking for an authentic encounter with their favorite brands. “Today, with so much of our lives lived online, especially during the pandemic, the desire for genuine, in-person connections has been reignited,” says Philippe, founder of Secret Journeys. “Our partners and ambassadors - premium hotels and travel designers - were approaching us to connect their high-end clients with luxury brands. That’s where the idea for Garnier Creations was born.”

Garnier Creations was co-founded by Philippe and luxury travel specialist Leah Walker, after four years of collaboration and extensive research and refinement. Their venture brings the experiential travel philosophy of Secret Journeys to the often difficult-to-navigate world of luxury Paris. Garnier Creations develops exclusive, bespoke encounters with top luxury houses, which normally could only be possible for elite, established clients of those brands.

The result is highly curated experiences that offer much more than simply walking into a boutique. As Leah sees it, “Shopping can be a cultural experience when traveling. Many of our partners are multi-generational brands, centuries old. These houses are links with the bigger story of France – encountering them is a new way to follow that story and rediscover Paris and France through the lens of a brand.”

For the brands, Garnier Creations helps them harness the power of experiential retail to reach and cater to new VIP clients, while working with a trusted partner with comparable values such as loyalty, excellence and refinement.

Philippe and Leah work in close collaboration with brands to develop once-in-a-lifetime experiences showcasing the brands’ stories and savoir-faire, but not forgetting the importance of meaningful human interactions. Because, in fact, these are not faceless brands but, in many cases, generations-old family businesses. Above all, the ever-growing portfolio is filled with fascinating stories – stories that Garnier Creations craft and share with a discerning, hand-picked clientele.

Guests can find themselves working with a haute couture designer-to-the-stars to create their own gown, or with a master tailor flown in from Italy to craft a handmade, bespoke suit. They can dine at the table d’hôte in the kitchen of a three-star Michelin chef. Perhaps they’ll visit the atelier of an exclusive Place Vendôme high jewelry house, and explore their fascinating archives.

What is certain is that Garnier Creations clients will have an otherwise impossible encounter, curated with a passion for storytelling, performance and elegance.