A 27-foot-tall, 700 kg hot air balloon has become the new focal point of the Galeries Lafayette Mumbai flagship, bringing a slice of Paris into the heart of Mumbai’s luxury district. Designed as an immersive sculptural statement, the installation turns the under-cupola space into a cinematic moment of Parisian daydreaming for every visitor.
Paris meets Mumbai under the cupola
The new Galeries Lafayette Mumbai flagship spans around 90,000 sq. ft across five levels in a restored heritage building in Kala Ghoda, blending Parisian refinement with Mumbai’s historic architecture. The soaring atrium under the cupola was conceived as the store’s emotional anchor, a place where brand storytelling, heritage, and contemporary luxury meet.
At the center of this space now floats a monumental hot air balloon sculpture measuring 27 feet in height and weighing 700 kg, imagined as a physical metaphor for travel, wanderlust, and the journey between Paris and Mumbai. The installation is positioned so that shoppers encounter it from multiple vantage points across levels, turning the act of moving through the store into a sequence of unfolding views.
A sculptural ode to wanderlust
Built as an architectural showpiece rather than a simple prop, the hot air balloon is accompanied by interactive animations and a choreographed light show that plays across its surface and the surrounding dome. The illustrated crown circling the structure features the skylines of Paris and Mumbai, visually stitching together the Haussmannian iconography of one city with the kinetic energy of the other.
The wider “La Fête” launch concept at Galeries Lafayette Mumbai transformed the flagship into a “living Parisian boulevard,” with immersive visual merchandising, performance art, and a whimsical balloon-led narrative running across floors. Within this scenography, the balloon under the cupola acts as the north star of the experience, anchoring everything from photo moments to wayfinding.
Crafted with experiential design expertise
Behind the visual theatre is the collaboration with 02JUNE Design Studios and Few Steps Ahead, a design and strategy duo specializing in space and experiential design. Their studios focus on retail architecture, visual merchandising and brand activations, working to create “meaningful, innovative and holistic experiences” where spatial design and storytelling move in sync.
For Galeries Lafayette Mumbai, this meant translating the brand’s 130-year legacy of fashion, art, and culture into a contemporary Indian context without feeling literal or theme-park-like. The hot air balloon becomes a subtle nod to the department store’s tradition of spectacular in-store installations in Paris, reimagined for an audience attuned to both global luxury codes and local cultural cues.
A new chapter for luxury in India
The arrival of Galeries Lafayette in India marks a milestone in the country’s premiumisation wave, with the Mumbai flagship hosting over 250 luxury and premium brands and planning a second store in Delhi around 2027. Beyond retail, the flagship leans heavily into experiences, from private lounges and concierge services to rotating cultural programs that position the store as a lifestyle destination rather than just a place to shop.
In this landscape, the balloon under the cupola is more than décor: it signals how luxury in India is shifting toward immersive, emotionally resonant environments that invite guests to pause, look up, and feel transported. Every ascent on the escalators offers a new chapter in that story, as Paris quietly rises above Mumbai’s streets — not as an escape, but as an elegant conversation between two global cities.
