Karl Lagerfeld\u2019s first branded luxury residences\u2014slated to open in Marbella, Spain around late 2023\u2014boast mirror-like siding, bookshelves galore, windows that perfectly frame the natural landscape, and the \u201clightness\u201d that was among the most defining characteristics of everything the legendary fashion designer touched.<\/p>\n
Spanish developer Sierra Blanca Estates unveiled scale models of the five unique villas at Lagerfeld headquarters on the Rue Saint Guillaume in Paris, decked out for the day in exotic plants and displays of key materials: black and white terrazzo for flooring, pale woods, and the reflective, ceramic-like tiles finished with white gold dust that give these modern homes a modernist gleam.<\/p>\n
The sleek residences, ranging from about 5,400 to 9,700 square feet in size, are to thrust luxury living into the eco age with carbon-neutral construction, solar panels, and geothermal energy\u2014plus roof gardens and greenery galore, as much for insulation and shade as for their natural beauty.<\/p>\n
The sales campaign for these trophy homes won\u2019t kick off until February or March 2022, but Sierra Blanca chief executive officer Carlos Rodriguez said he\u2019s already fielding serious enquiries.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are showing that luxury living can be sustainable,\u201d he said, calling the Karl Lagerfeld Villas an \u201ciconic\u201d project crowning a string of developments that have made Marbella a top destination for international high rollers. \u201cThis is the direction we want to keep moving in\u2026there\u2019s an added value to a sustainable project and people are willing to pay for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Karl Lagerfeld CEO Pier Paolo Righi noted that fashion brands have proven that one needn\u2019t forsake style to be eco-friendly. Likewise, the sustainable elements of the forthcoming villas \u201cblend so nicely, and they amplify the beauty and the luxury connotation. It doesn\u2019t take away anything, it just adds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prices for the villas will only be provided upon request next year, but they are believed to be in the tens of millions given the prime real estate\u2014offering views of the Mediterranean and Penibaetic mountains\u2014and lavishly landscaped grounds free of cars which roll directly into underground garages with light streaming in from windows set into the swimming pool hugging one wall of each of the homes.<\/p>\n
\u201cLuxury today is also how you spend your time,\u201d said Andrea Boschetti, the architect of the villas, some built in V- or Y-shaped configurations, and all with nearly transparent ground floors to give the feeling of living in nature.<\/p>\n
According to Righi, Boschetti came to the project with a deep understanding of Lagerfeld\u2019s varied taste in architecture and interiors, and his passion for photography, which inspired the modular windows that frame the landscape as if through a viewfinder.<\/p>\n
To be sure, the late designer was firmly against any \u201ccookie-cutter approach\u201d to architecture, and would surely be impressed by the bespoke approach of the developer and The One Atelier, a real estate consultancy specialising in branded projects, having worked with Sierra Blanca on Epic Marbella, a complex of 28 luxury apartments and townhouses that boast furnishings by Fendi Casa.<\/p>\n
\u201cBranded residences are growing really, really fast,\u201d said Michelle Galli, CEO of The One Atelier.<\/p>\n
While hotel operators were the first movers, more fashion and luxury brands are entering the fray, offering not only a glamorous name, but also plenty of content, design principles, and strident quality and image standards.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe brand is becoming like a certificate of quality,\u201d Galli said. \u201cTo own a branded residence means the value of this residence will become higher, or will be stable in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rodriguez likened the Karl Lagerfeld Villas to art pieces, given the attention to detail and the amount of storytelling built into the concept.<\/p>\n
Sierra Blanca Estates is the company behind what it bills as \u201cthe Beverly Hills of Marbella,\u201d having developed dozens of villas in a variety of styles.<\/p>\n
Galli said all the partners in the project spent more than six months researching the Karl Lagerfeld company and learning about the late founder, with longtime communications and image director Caroline Lebar sharing valuable lore about his various homes and his passion for interiors and architecture in order to identify the key brand codes to exalt in the villas.<\/p>\n
\u201cClients are looking for new experiences. And with the help of brands, you are able to offer this,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cThe brand creates a desirability, it creates a uniqueness.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Lagerfeld company plans to develop furnishings and objects to offer clients the full brand customisation in Marbella, up to and including helping to fill shelves with the designer\u2019s favourite photo and design books.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Karl Lagerfeld\u2019s first branded luxury residences\u2014slated to open in Marbella, Spain around late 2023\u2014boast mirror-like siding, bookshelves galore, windows that perfectly frame the natural landscape, and the \u201clightness\u201d that was among the most defining characteristics of everything the legendary fashion designer touched. Spanish developer Sierra Blanca Estates unveiled scale models of the five unique villas…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":91856,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11443,18,16115,14,8],"class_list":["post-101987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-couture","category-lifestyle","category-luxury-living","category-real-estate","category-travel"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n