Originally opened in 1959 as Oakridge Centre, the mall was developed by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) on a then-undeveloped 32-acre forested site at West 41st Avenue and Cambie Street. Built with a construction budget of $25 million, the open-air shopping centre became Vancouver’s first major mall, anchored by the Woodward’s department store and surrounded by 2,500 surface parking spaces.

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Walking through the front doors of the new Oakridge Park reveals just how much Vancouver has evolved over the decades — from a quiet forestry town into a global city preparing to host FIFA and attract visitors from around the world.

Offering a luxury shopping experience

The all-new Oakridge Park is centred entirely around luxury retail. There are no fast-fashion outlets here. Instead, shoppers stroll along expansive granite floors lined with brands ranging from local favourites such as Lululemon and Aritzia to prestigious European fashion houses including Louis Vuitton, Brunello Cucinelli, and Bvlgari.

Surprisingly, several luxury boutiques, including Dior, were still not open despite the redevelopment having been underway for more than a decade. Most remaining tenants are expected to be operational by the fall.

Inside the mall, suspended glass art installations hang overhead, including a small indoor amphitheatre with church-style wooden pews that provides space for live performances and cultural programming.

Time Out Market

Located above the shopping centre is the new Time Out Market, the internationally recognized food hall concept founded in Lisbon with locations around the world. My most recent visit to a Time Out Market was in Barcelona last year, and stepping into the Vancouver location immediately brought back memories of enjoying authentic Spanish paella.

The food hall promises an elevated culinary and cultural experience, featuring cuisine from some of the city’s top chefs. Visitors can choose from 18 kitchens, three bars, a coffee shop, and a main stage dedicated to arts and cultural events.

Dining here, however, comes at a premium. The Le Croc burger from Feenie’s starts at $27.99, add foie gras, port wine jus and truffle fries, and your tab climbs to $72.96, not including tip and tax.

Most seating consists of large communal bench-style tables accommodating up to 1,000 guests. During the summer months, visitors can also dine outdoors on the rooftop patio while enjoying some of Vancouver’s best people-watching.

Luxury fashion and dining converges at Oakridge Park

Oakridge Park’s upscale retail tenant mix targets affluent shoppers and has historically posted the highest sales per square metre among malls across Canada.

Strategically located between downtown Vancouver and Vancouver International Airport, with access to the Skytrain, Oakridge Park appears well-positioned for long-term success despite a recent slowdown in global luxury goods spending.

Beneath the mall are 2,000 underground parking spaces, including 200 electric vehicle charging stations. Valet parking is available on the P1 level at both the north and south atriums, while the first two levels of underground parking remain free for up to three hours.

The Oakridge Park redevelopment was approved by the City of Vancouver in 2014 as a then-$1.5-billion project. Since then, it has expanded into a $5-billion development that includes five luxury condominium towers nearing occupancy, future office towers, and a proposed street-style shopping district still awaiting a construction timeline.

From luxury fashion to contemporary streetwear, Oakridge Park aims to bring together some of the world’s most established and innovative names in fashion. Vancouver has certainly grown since its beginnings. 

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They demand privacy and discretion, so they have access to private luxury designer lounges and by-invitation-only events offering a premium shopping experience. The ultra-wealthy seek out exclusive items unavailable to the general public, spending millions annually on their preferred high-end brands and retailers.

Although the super-rich shopper only makes up 2% of total customers, they drive about 40% of luxury retail sales. 

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Tourists purchasing luxury goods represent a significant portion of the industry’s luxury sales, often taking advantage of favourable conversion rates and tax exemptions. 

As global travel is expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels in 2024, luxury boutiques such as Louis Vuitton, Dior, Gucci, and Omega located in the Fairmont Vancouver Hotel will continue to attract destination-focused shoppers.

After the pandemic, discretionary spending has significantly increased. Especially on luxury goods and travel, as more people choose to enjoy life rather than die rich.

Jewelry

The super-rich are now buying more jewelry as it is very personalized. They invest in jewelry for a sense of permanence and long-term value. Unlike soft goods, jewelry holds its value over time and is a lasting investment.

Tiffany has been making once-in-a-lifetime acquisitions in the rarest of stones to appeal to ultra-rich buyers. Last year, CEO Anthony Ledru announced that Tiffany’s high jewelry business had grown by 300% since being acquired by LVMH in 2021.

Private Super-Rich shopping

During the COVID-19 pandemic, several high-end brands in Canada and the USA began offering private shopping experiences to their customers. This trend is now gaining popularity across the globe, especially in Asia.

Luxury brands offer private shopping suites for wealthy clients to enjoy exclusive shopping and dining.

Engaging with customers in this way can lead to increased spending and foster one-on-one relationships with customers, encouraging them to return.

Ultra-rich are time-poor

The wealthy have plenty of money to buy luxury goods, but the real challenge is to get time with them.

Today, anyone can book luxury vacations and Michelin-starred dining experiences online. So, luxury brands and retailers offer unique experiences even their money cannot buy to build personal relationships.

Dolce & Gabbana recently held a private fashion event for its top clients in their connecting villas high above Portofino, Italy. As their clients’ yachts were moored in the bay below, the week-long Couture fashion show was open to less than 100 invites. 

You will not find any images online of their audience as they were required to surrender their phones and cameras, guaranteeing total privacy. For the wealthy, a simple lunch is not enough.

Emotional experiences

When selling luxury, creating emotional experiences that establish a positive relationship with clients is important. Super-rich shopping events are exclusive and take place in unique locations.

Today, luxury retail emphasizes emotional connection, offering exclusive in-store experiences that many can only dream of.

It’s no wonder why so many people dream of indulging in this world of luxury.

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Nonetheless, the fashion world soldiers on and, after reviewing many of the European luxury spring runway shows, here are my top three spring fashion trends for today’s woman.

Wild side: Sensual lace

Saint Laurent’s resort collection was all about the 90s. Remember Kate Moss’ wardrobe of vintage lace, silk camisoles and slip dresses?

This season, underwear is once again outerwear. Now paired with long blazers, cardigans, miniskirts or faded jeans, the emphasis is on comfort. 

At home, this look is easy and effortless, if a little wild. Early zoom meeting? Forego the common t-shirt and throw a blazer over your camisole or bralette.

However, you wear them, all are classic pieces that are smart investments for seasons to come.

Colour: Mint green

Pantone’s Color of the Year gave us illuminating yellow and ultimate grey while Hermes’ spring runway show presented us with butter yellow.

But my luxury buyer experience is betting on mint green as the must-buy colour of the season. It has a more youthful vibe, compliments more skin tones, and makes a terrific accent colour for accessories.

So, watch for mint green dresses and outerwear plus accessories such as sneakers and handbags for a playful colourful sporty style this spring.

Trench coat

In a world of uncertainty, fashion designers have gone back to basics, reinventing the classic trench coat.

Louis Vuitton, Prada and Nina Ricci all offer trench coats with a twist: from dramatic lapels and bold sleeves to curious side slits, drop waists and belts.

For spring, a cinched waist was big on the runway. Choose a belted trench coat that will emphasize your silhouette and leave the baggy, bulky and balloon-like winter coats behind as we look to warmer weather and longer days.

COVID-friendly fashion

As fashion designers have adjusted to pandemic life, their socially distanced luxury spring runway shows remain focused on home comfort.

But despite the continued emphasis on COVID-friendly fashion, I’m optimistic that by working together to keep family and colleagues safe, we will come out of this sooner rather than later.

There are signs of life in the luxury fashion realm. While spending on luxury fashion is down, the amount of the average sales transaction is up.

This demonstrates that the high fashion houses that focus on their core values of quality, exclusivity, and customer experience will weather the current storm.

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Also, with more luxury designers focusing on fashion sustainability and with sales reflecting clients choosing quality over quantity, the industry is changing for the better.

This spring, I hope your fashion choices reflect an optimistic outlook. I know mine will and I’m confident I’ll be back reporting from the fashion frontlines soon!

Top photo by H.F.E & CO on Unsplash

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For the past two years, European designer runway collections have been taking their inspiration from 80s fashion. Remember those white tube socks worn with sandals? How about neon yellow, Hawaiian shirts and big curly permed hair? Even though many of us would like to forgot the trends of that decade, designers are mining it for fashion gems.

Bumbags

The return of the fanny pack (or as the British loving call them “bumbags” – they seem to have a thing about their posteriors) is the result of an upscale reinvention with designer fabrics and hardware and price tags to match.

Gucci calls them “belt bags” and produces luxurious quilted leather versions in bright blue and fuchsia finished with flowery embroidery and a gold logo. Louis Vuitton, meanwhile, offers up canvas or metallic “hip bags” in their classic monogram print. Given the extravagance of these high-end pieces, the humble origins of the fanny pack may come as a bit of a surprise.

Commonly referred to as buffalo bags or pouches, one of the earliest known uses of the fanny pack was by First Nations peoples in North America who wore a variation of a belt with a satchel attached.

Later, during the 15th & 16th centuries, as pockets had not yet been invented, Europeans wore small pouches tied around their waists in which they kept their valuables.

Yes, Dads

Ski patrol members in the 1960s wore fanny packs as first aid kits which popularized them with the outdoor adventure crowd. But it wasn’t until the 80’s that fanny packs became streetwear. Whether rollerblading, hiking or simply heading to the grocery store, many Dads would wear a fanny pack whenever they left the house. Yes – your Dads were ahead of the fashion curve by about 40 years.

At the turn of the century, hipsters made them a fashion staple at outdoor music festivals and nighttime raves. Today, Bella Hadid and Selena Gomez are just a few of the big A-list names swaggering around town with their bum bags and sporting the newest designer fanny packs in their instagram feeds.

Street Style

On our streets, fashionable women are wearing them cross-body with the pouch on their chest or under their shoulder.

For men, it’s definitely all about the Rambo look with larger pouches with the capacity to hold a bottle of scotch worn across the body rather than around the waist.

As the luxury designers price their modern fanny packs at up to US$1500, they are less expensive than their handbags which may be the reason that, this summer, demand has outpaced supply. Louis Vuitton boutiques now have a waiting list for their belt bags and you can bet it’s not suburban dads lining up to buy these up-market versions. It’s the fashionable set and their adherents.

The 80s fashion looks have returned. You have been forewarned.

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