In late 2023, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) became the first international soccer club to open a store in London, allowing British fans to purchase soccer kits and merchandise from across the channel. Now, the club is going one step further to woo the Brits. Enter “Ici C’est Paris ‘La Maison’”, an experiential PSG pop-up on Cavendish Square — open from February 11 to 15 — which aims to boost brand equity among young soccer fans, and establish PSG as a fashion and lifestyle proposition.
At La Maison, visitors can shop exclusive collaborations with streetwear label Walk in Paris, badge brand Macon&Lesquoy, and London Sneaker School, alongside previous partnerships with the likes of Jordan and 3.Paradis. There is a poetry event with British poet James Massiah, an evening of stand-up comedy, yoga classes, a café space, and a program of intimate meals prepared by chefs from Paris and London.
“For me, La Maison is the expression of what we’ve been delivering for 15 years,” says Fabien Allègre, PSG’s chief brand officer, speaking to Vogue Business ahead of the opening. “We’re able to show our capacity to bring people together.”
PSG are not the only club to try and bridge the gap between soccer, fashion and wider culture, to harness a new generation of fans. In 2024, Arsenal unveiled a collaboration with London label Aries, Juventus has worked with Palace, Real Madrid has partnered with Y-3, and AC Milan has an ongoing relationship with Off-White. Across Europe, soccer clubs are aware of the benefits that can come from these collaborations. Each one is intended to deepen the world around the club, creating a link to a potential fanbase that consumes soccer and culture in a more connected way.
That potential fanbase has inspired Allègre’s strategy. “Our position is to be the club of the new generation,” he says. “All of the studies we’ve done show that this generation is a little bit more complicated when it comes to its relationship with a club or a brand. We need to understand that; we need to consider culture as a hub, not to separate soccer from other points of passion.” As an example, Allègre references the way that younger generations now consume soccer games. “If you look at a 16-year-old, they’re looking at Instagram while they watch the game on their laptop, and they’re listening to music in their ear,” he says. “You need to work around all of their touchpoints. It’s all about passion in the end, whether you’re talking about art, music, food, or sport.”
PSG’s lifestyle ambitions began in 2011, when Qatar Sports Investment acquired a majority stake in the club. Since, there has been major funding of both the sports side and brand side of the business. World-class players like Lionel Messi, Neymar, and current Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé have played for PSG, raising its international profile. While off the pitch, the club inked long-term collaboration deals with leading fashion labels including Jordan (2018), Stüssy (2022), and 3.Paradis (2022). “The vision from the [investor’s] chairman was to make Paris Saint-Germain a global brand,” says Allègre. “One of the top sports franchises, but also using what we define as culture — and soccer is part of culture — to create a bridge for a new generation of Paris Saint-Germain fans.”
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While PSG as both a club and a brand is rooted in Paris (which undoubtedly bolsters its fashion ambitions), there is an international outlook to much of its work. There are academies across the world, and the club operates 14 stores globally, from New York and Las Vegas to Tokyo and Hong Kong. This international focus helps explain the decision to open La Maison in London, and to work with local creatives on the programming. “You need to accept now that culture is global, that’s why we love to collaborate with not only French or Parisian people,” says Allègre. “Here, we will have a poetry session, no other club could do that. To us, it’s natural to highlight the local scene. Being a Parisian is not being born and raised in Paris, it’s about the mindset, it’s about the values as a city. That’s the expression of what we are, as a club, as a brand, as an entity.”
The La Maison pop-up is a new concept, but PSG is trying to emulate success from other parts of the world. Allègre references the club’s store in Los Angeles as a particular example. “What was really successful was the mix of different communities and people,” he says. “I hope that, with the program that we have this week in London, we will get the same kind of mix — that’s who we are. Paris Saint-Germain is an open family. You’re in it wherever you’re coming from, whatever you’re expecting from the club, on the sports side or the lifestyle side.”
Allègre is keen to stress the two-way nature of the fan relationship, something that emerged from the club’s research into the next generation of soccer supporters. As well as the cultural programming, there’s the opportunity to watch a PSG game in the space and a wellness focus that draws on its nutrition and training expertise. “We were thinking about how we can give an understanding of what the professional players are using in a training session,” Allègre says, pointing to nutrition, exercise classes, and wellness areas. “The idea is to use the methodology and know-how that we have, and try to give it back to our community of fans.”
Giving back to the fans and the community is Allègre’s vision for La Maison. This space is a way to showcase the world around PSG, and to give fans an opportunity to experience the diversity of the club’s creative side. It’s the same reason that PSG is expanding beyond the soccer world, moving into fashion, culture, and lifestyle. “You cannot retain fans if you have only transactional relationships, pushing them to buy something or pay for an experience,” he says. “It will not work like that. You need to take care of your family.”
