Citing it as “The Soul of the DS Line” Citroën has opened a new showcase dedicated exclusively to the DS world. DS World Paris, located at 33 rue François 1er in the middle of the city’s famed “Golden Triangle” (delimited by the Champs-Elysées, George V and Montaigne avenues), DS World Paris is a venue for sales, shows and history – with the spotlight firmly on DS line models – and a place for experience, emotion, open to artists.
Citroën felt that the DS line needed an emblematic showcase in the city that saw the birth of the legendary DS. Behind an Art Deco façade lie three “levels of experience” highlighting DS models, talent and heritage. DS World Paris immerses visitors in the DS universe, where the emphasis is on creation, as seen in a bold roster of artistic and cultural events.
With the DS line showcase – the only venue of its kind in Europe – the Brand has yet another asset for attracting the public. It is also a point of sale, aimed at winning over new customers by bringing them exclusive and personalized services and by showing them the most beautiful vehicles in the line, including the CITROËN DS3 DS World Paris, a limited edition model produced in just 15 units.
A true international flagship, the DS World Paris is the second DS-dedicated venue, joining the DS World in Shanghai that opened in March 2013.
With the DS branding applied to a portion of its modern car lineup, with bold choices on styling, architecture, sensations and refinement. Citroën has sold over 400,000 DS line models since its launch in 2010.
DS WORLD PARIS, SHOWCASING THE DS UNIVERSE
The DS World Paris is a place for inspiration, where visitors can find out all about the design of the DS line, a subtle blend of avant-garde and heritage that has risen to prominence around the world since its creation. And Citroen is once again embracing the past; Their latest press release states: “From the legendary 1955 DS to recent models and radical concept cars, the DS World Paris brings the past and the future together.”
In the beginning was the DS…
DS fame began with the Citroën DS, launched in October 1955 at the Paris Motor Show held in the Grand Palais. The new model’s design and technologies quite simply turned the automotive sector on its head. The heritage of the DS line is spotlighted on the first level of the DS World Paris, where visitors get to learn more about the saga of the Citroën DS. The model on show for the opening is one of the very first in the prestigious line: a 1956 Citroën DS19.
The Citroën DS adventure continues
The DS saga continues today with the Citroën DS3, DS3 CABRIO, DS4 and DS5, the models that make up the DS line and continue to uphold the Brand’s “Parisian” values and know-how. The most beautiful models in the DS line will be exhibited throughout the year. And the future of the line will be suggested by showcasing concept cars, with Wild Rubis being the inaugural example.
Wild Rubis, a concentrate of DS styling
The Wild Rubis concept car previews the future SUV model in the DS line with a subtle blend of refinement and power. Powered by full-hybrid plug-in technology, it stands as a concentrate of DS styling, wild and sophisticated down to the last detail, from the mobile lighting modules that activate on ignition to the wheels and tail lights graced by the DS logo and the rear end with its sculptural design.
The CITROËN DS3 DS World Paris, a jewel of elegance and object of desire
“The Citroën DS3 DS World Paris was designed exclusively to celebrate the DS World Paris,” says DS styling head Thierry Metroz. Produced in just 15 units and sold only at the DS World Paris, the limited-edition model targets the biggest collectors with a passion for the DS line.
Inspired by Art Deco architecture and reflecting French artisanal expertise, the Citroën DS3 DS World Paris is a jewel of Parisian elegance. The exclusive model is cloaked in matte ash grey body paint and Trinitario brown of the roof and wing mirror shells. The colours were created specially for the new model.
Refinement dominates inside in the shape of prestige materials. The seats, dashboard insert, gear stick handle and central armrest are upholstered in Trinitario brown Nappa leather with beige overstitching developed by the Brand’s craftsmen-upholsterers. The numbered DS World Paris badge, made in oak and inlaid on the dashboard insert, makes each model unique. The original wood touch also features on the door panels.
The Citroën DS3 DS World Paris is available with a 120 bhp petrol engine (VTi 120) and an automatic gearbox.
Exclusive and personalised services
At DS WORLD PARIS, customers get tailored advice and special, all-new services including home deliveries of new vehicles across the Ile-de-France region and “jockey” vehicle pick-ups for servicing operations. All DS customers benefit from a free one-year concierge service and invitations to headlining events through the Citroën DS Privilege club. Customers can enjoy chauffeured tours of Paris in an original Citroën DS23 or rent the legendary car themselves.
A boutique showcasing the DS lifestyle
The boutique inside DS World Paris houses a collection of DS Lifestyle products that are sensual and refined, These include a wallet, a special wallet for vehicle registration papers, a phone case and a key ring, all of which will slip perfectly into “DS Addicts” bags, all inspired by French-style luxury culture, with top-quality materials and fit and finish of the very highest standards.
For the opening of DS World Paris, Citroën is launching the first product in its DS Lifestyle luggage line, the “DS 48H” weekend bag, available in a limited edition and in an exclusive avant-premiere at DS World Paris. The bag is made from French-origin full-grain calf leather of outstanding quality, crafted by Tanneries Roux, and assembled by France’s renowned Renouard Leatherworks. The smooth leather is enhanced in parts with embossed leather featuring a delicately drawn DS logo in relief.
DS WORLD PARIS: THE EXPERIENCE
– Stepping into DS World Paris
“The DS World Paris focuses squarely on the very essence of DS, a distinctive take on luxury à la française. Every detail and every space was fully thought through and designed as you would a haute couture fashion collection,” says Julien Faux, director of DS World Paris.
Fronted by a listed Art Deco façade, the DS World Paris is home to a 600 square-metre space bearing the colours of the DS line – black, champagne and carmine – and designed according to the cues and values of high-end boutiques, with an emphasis on elegance, charm and purity. The DS World Paris immerses visitors in the DS universe and awakens all the senses.
Sight
The DS World Paris is an inspired setting, strong on creativity and emotion. The balance struck between colours, lighting and shapes brings a sense of serenity, a harmony that appeals to the eye with a view to enhancing the cars on show.
An astonishing, tailor-made chandelier looks down on the DS World Paris from a height of 3.8 metres. With 900 blown-glass beads hand assembled on 1,300 optic fibre filaments, it offers countless wave-like surfaces that shimmer in tune with the light.
Refinement is also the keyword with the furniture, particularly the DS Sofa, created by DS designers at the Citroën styling centre. The DS Sofa is a one-off piece, presented at the Milan Furniture Show in March 2013, whose curves speak of flow and movement, suggesting a levitating vehicle body.
Touch
Particular care was taken in the choice of materials. The DS logo appears on the walls, whose surfaces alternate between lacquer and leather-inspired trim. One wall is used to display the leathers and upholstery tools used for DS line models, perfectly conveying the know-how of Citroën’s craftsmen-upholsterers.
Smell
DS World Paris is also home to a special fragrance that subtly accompanies visitors as they come through the door at 33 rue François 1er. Scentys, a fragrance diffusion expert, worked with renowned perfumer Antoine Lie to create an exceptional fragrance that distils the DS spirit. The result is a consummate alchemy of ginger, cardamom, iris powder and clear musks blended with a base of Chinese cedar and Haitian vetiver.
The DS World Paris fragrance evokes history and elegance, making up the venue’s olfactory identity. It is also available in candle form in the DS World Paris boutique.
Hearing
The elegant musical signature developed by the Sixième Son music design agency for the DS World Paris is called “Cousu Mots”, or “Word-Stitching”. The DS sound is one “you can touch”, a bounteous mix ranging from jazz to timeless classical pieces, possessing a sense of tangibility – a knowing blend of electro and experimental – and creating a free-feeling lounge atmosphere. The soundtrack also features transitions, sound effects and interviews with celebrities and talented individuals at Citroën. Listeners can have fun trying to put the voice to the face of the people starring in Citroën DS ads.
A cultural and artistic space open to creativity
“In our approach to personalisation, we wanted the DS World Paris to be on the cutting edge of the avant-garde, in tune with creative communities and breakthrough artistic experiences. We will choose and create events that echo our world and surprise visitors with a convincing blend of daring and know-how,” says Julien Faux.
To celebrate the inauguration, the DS World Paris is featuring a performance by visual artist Philippe Baudelocque, gastronomic creations from starred chef Mathieu Pacard, and a set by musician Thomas Dutronc.
Throughout 2014, the DS World Paris will host a range of artistic and cultural happenings ranging from fashion and gastronomy to art and design.