SAJO’s Legacy with Maison Dior in North America

Since the opening of Christian Dior boutiques in the North American continent in the mid-20^th century, the legendary fashion house has steadily expanded its footprint across Canadian and US capitals. With more than one-hundred locations in North America, the brand’s lore, legacy, and superior savoir-faire are an indelible source of inspiration and renown for the North American fashion scene.

Maison Dior is deemed the crown jewel of LVMH, its parent company and the world’s largest luxury fashion conglomerate. The brand, rooted in its tradition of artisanship, is emblematic of old-world prestige and luxury, and one of only two international fashion houses to operate an atelier de couture from its inception.

For the past ten years, SAJO has had the opportunity to partner with LVMH in its brick-and-mortar expansion of Dior flagships in North America. In its role as general contractor, SAJO has been an integral part of the Dior fashion house team in implementing the design and construction of several of its prestigious boutiques.

The first was in Toronto’s Mink Mile, home to the largest Christian Dior flagship in North AmericaNext, was the project at The Crystals in Las Vegas, Nevada, one of several Dior boutiques in that municipality exuding the brand’s hallmark beauty, elegance, and craftsmanship. The flagship in the Houston Galleria Mall, in Texas, one of seven Dior boutiques in that state, bears special historic significance since Texas was the state where Christian Dior was bestowed the prestigious Neiman Marcus Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Fashion, during his first official visit to the United States, in 1947.

SAJO’s more recent projects include the Dior boutique located in the Mall at Millenia, in Orlando, Florida, the interior design of which aligns with that of the brand’s original, iconic flagship at 30 Avenue Montaigne in Paris. The other project is a store located at Copley Place, an enclosed shopping mall known for its upscale fashion stores, and situated in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.

In collaboration with the American firms, Grade Architects and Dialectic Engineering, SAJO handled all interior retail construction, coordinating all trades and installations, including wood flooring throughout the store, recessed lighting in the ceilings, structural reinforcement of the large storefront, as well as wall displays of metal rods and floating shelves used to showcase the brand’s distinctive clothing lines and accessories. The overall beige and off-white tones of its fixtures, furnishings and striated textured walls, evoke the brand’s classic style, subtle allure, and sophistication.

SAJO won recognition from the Grands Prix du Design, an international design competition based in Quebec, for the interior retail construction of the Dior flagships in Toronto, Houston, and Boston. In 2022, on the 15^th edition of the competition, SAJO was awarded the platinum prize for commercial construction of the Dior flagship in Toronto, and in 2023, on the competition’s 16^th edition, SAJO received silver certifications for the Dior projects, built in Houston and Boston.

Such recognition attests to SAJO’s steadfast commitment to high quality workmanship and to its unwavering partnership with the client.