Aesop continue to deliver outstanding, intelligent and considered design in not only their product but with their individual approach to each retail concept store they launch. Their latest offering in Zurich embodies this philosophy perfectly. Utilising a long, narrow space to advantage, the focal point of the store is located in the centre of the space allowing consumers to walk around and interact with the products which are located on a series of suspended shelves. There’s a sense of weightlessness and room to breathe due to the fact that the shelves don’t make contact with the ground and only the necessary products and shelving is featured. The repetition of the shelves seem to co-exist with ease but not at the peril of functionality. Using Aesop’s signature store sensibilities of incorporating water, merging modernity and recycled materials and not “over-designing” or adding unnecessary objects, this Zurich store is no exception. – Kate Vandermeer.
It is risky to try to express luxury for an 18-28-year-old, wealthy male audience — and not turn them totally off. Rafael de Cardenas of New York’s Architecture at Large took on this challenge with the rebuilding of Ubiq Philadelphia, the destination of choice for sneakerheads from far and wide.
As sneakers and streetwear do not lend themselves all that well to wine-colored velvet or chandeliers, de Cardenas approached the redesign of the large store with a cold and bold, simplified black-and-white palette. Hard, black-lacquered surfaces, op-inspired patterns, harsh lighting and simplified displays mix with beautiful detailing and white ceilings and floors.
Thrown into the mix is a posh back room, where streetwear is displayed in a traditional gentlemen’s tailor room complete with dark-wood panels, antique furnishings, restored Victorian plasterwork and a magnificent, restored mahogany fireplace. It is all a nice fusion of mansion and showroom, inviting and cold, pared-down and rich. With his approach, de Cardenas has managed to teeter in the wobbly middle-space between the reassuring ‘you can tell this is expensive, can’t you?’ and the nonchalant ‘I don’t really care.’
The entire store is up about a meter from street level, so you can be assured that you are seen, day or night, on display, shopping for your latest pair of Clae, Stussy Deluxe, Vans Vault, Original Fake, UMBRO by Kim Jones and many others. Apparently, rap artist Kanye West has shopped there, so it should be good to go for the rest. By Tuija Seipell
After becoming one of the world's hottest boutique botanical skincare ranges, the Australian-based Aesop brand
is now making a name for itself in the world of innovative retail
design, injecting a large dose of cool into the concept of
sustainability. If you thought the brand's Melbourne "cardboard" concept store was
clever (all of the merchandising stands were made from recycled
cardboard), you'll love its brand new Adelaide "bottle" boutique. The
store's ceiling is crafted entirely out of recycled bottles, precisely
arranged in a wave pattern. Who said green had to be dowdy?
These new Australian stores are part of a big phase of expansion for
Aesop, which has also just opened boutiques in Paris and London's
swanky Mayfair. By Lisa Evans
Since being established by Dennis Pahitis twenty years ago, Aésop skin
care has become an uncontested success story in the notoriously fickle
beauty industry – focused on providing its worldwide clientele with the
highest quality botanical skin care, rather than subscribing to
mainstream-cosmetic anti-aging hype. Aésop now have 78 international
stockists, plus 20 signature stores including stores in Paris, London,
Sydney and their most recent Melbourne addition, Flinders Lane.
In keeping with Aésop tradition – that every store is different;
conceived and designed individually so as that each store is a
reflection and celebration of its location – the Flinders Lane store
does not disappoint, providing its customers with a design and
infrastructure that is just as alternative as Aésop’s skin care
products. Located in one of Melbourne’s most interesting precincts, the
Flinders Lane store interior is made entirely of industrial-grade
cardboard; from the display shelving, to the massive eastern façade,
and even the counter tops– proving that cardboard can be both striking
and structurally sturdy if it’s engineered well.
Designed by local interior architects Rodney Eggleston and Anne-Laure
Cavigneaux of March Studios, the ambient new store has drawn attention
from all sorts of passers by. Store manager, Kate, says she wasn’t
expecting how amazed customers would be by the store’s design. “It’s
clear it’s a very tactile environment. Most people come in and tend to
want to touch it all.”
The Flinders Lane store is located at Shop 1C, 268 Flinders Lane,
Melbourne. For a full list of Aésop products and stockists visit www.aesop.net.au. By Anna Byrne.
Alexandre Herchcovitch has come a long way since his humble beginnings
of making his mother's party clothes. Having launched his first
collection in 1994, things have only gotten bigger for the
Brazilian-born designer.
Trained at the Catholic institution Santa Marcelina College of Arts in
Sao Paulo, his designs have been sent down the runways of New York,
Paris and London. Best known for avant-garde designs and eclectic
prints, his trademark skulls became an icon of Brazilian youth in the
nineties.
2007 was a memorable year for Herchcovitch. It was a year of branching
out, particularly with his redesign of the uniform for McDonald's
employees in Brazil, and the opening of his first store abroad. In this
daring project, Herchcovitch chose Tokyo where a good part of his
collections are purchased and where he has become somewhat of a fashion
guru.
The 1,076sq ft store, which sits in the hip Daikanyama district carries
his men's, women's and denim collections and is operated in partnership
with Japanese fashion distributor and retailer H.P. France.
Changing the way the world thinks about Brazilian fashion, coupled with
his new Japanese store and concessions in New York, Herchcovitch is
fast becoming a big and serious name in the fashion world. By Brendan McKnight.
Fiat has opened ew London flagship showroom and it is well worth
the visit even if you have no desire to purchase one of the swanky new
500's. The Marylebone store features a heavily chromed interior (look
out for the exhaust pipe clad columns) and is fresh and modern without
being intimidating or overbearing – think Austin Powers
love den meets the science lab of the future.
The space is split over two floors. The first floor is the showroom with a handful
of vehicles, a whole lot of shag pile carpet and a gift shop to boot.
Here you can purchase pretty much anything for the Fiat enthusiast from
cufflinks to handbags to miniature models that open up to become USB
sticks. Yep, Team Fiat has thought of everything. Downstairs is a more
minimalist white multi function space designed for corporate meetings,
fashion shows and art and design exhibitions. This space currently features the 'Fiat Workpop 500' exhibition where prototypes
of Fiat accessories that have been designed by 22 young product
designers are on display. The public can vote for its favourites, and
in a Survivor like contest, the winner's product will go into mass
production and eventually on general sale. Where will you be able to
purchase these you may be asking? In the gift shop of course. By Brendan McKnight
The much awaited, fabulous, 6,000 square-foot M.A.C Pro
space has just opened in New York. Occupying an entire floor at 7 West
22nd Street, the new facility is divided into two separate sections,
each with its own entrance: A retail/studio and a training area. Unlike
other M.A.C Pro stores around the world, this is a full-blown studio
and experimentation facility for make-up artists and beauty
professionals. With its dramatic open layout, the space is a true feast
for the eyes.
M.A.C Pro’s New York store is completely dedicated to serving the pros.
At the mixing station, they can hone their skills, test samples and
experiment with the product with all of the tools of the trade nearby.
The reference library is stocked with books, magazines and other
reference materials for those who want to learn more or do research. At
the photography studio, they can record their processes and their
results. A separate training area, a kitchenette and bathrooms with
showers make this an ideal space for some serious learning.
Makeup Art Cosmetics (M·A·C) launched in 1984 when two Canadians,
makeup artist and photographer Frank Toskan and beauty salon owner
Frank Angelo, opened a single counter in the basement of the
now-defunct Simpson’s department store in Toronto. Staffed by
professional make-up artists, determined to become the ultimate color
authority in make-up, and blessed with an outrageous sense of drama and
theatre, M.A.C gained huge popularity among professionals and
consumers. The Estee Lauder Companies bought 51 per cent of M.A.C in
1995 and the rest of the shares in 1998. Sleek stores, a vast array of
color options, and a sense of professionalism and artistry are still
the hallmarks of M.A.C that now has more than 750 stores in 50
countries. By Tuija Seipell.
Unworldly spaces with equally unworldly names, like the topsy-turvy
boutique And A, Beams T or Foot Soldier, shops that feature little
conveyor belts for the display of merchandise, or Nowhere *A Bathing
Ape 'Busy Work Shop', a Tokyo boutique that stocks and displays
garments in an oversized refrigerator that resembles the familiar unit
in everybody's local supermarket - all recent additions to Japan's
shopping streets - are the work of Masamichi Katayama, founder of
Tokyo-based WonderWall. More than just attempts to be futuristic or
extravagant, they are highly sophisticated retail outlets. Not to
mention great fun! Katayama is the consummate consumer. With his shop
designs for *A Bathing Ape, a charismatic apparel brand, Katayama has
ventured beyond the streets of Japan to enrich shopping experience in
London and New York. By Lisa Evans
Annoying as it is to admit but we did not invent this device. This
hangover of a clothes rack, this marvel of a loss-prevention tool, this
clothes line with an attitude, this hallway accessory that we all — at
least in theory — could make at home. A couple of things worry us about
this potential nightmare, though. With the Christmas season still in
fresh memory, we all know how tangled up a string of anything can get.
So this could really drive you mad. And when the cab’s waiting outside,
how do you quickly grab your coat and run? By Tuija Seipell
One of our favourite bookstores, Magma (UK) expanded its brand a few
months ago by opening it's first Multi-Purpose product shop, designed
by architects Julie Blum and Nikki Blustin. The eco friendly shelving
is made out of treated cardboard and these specially designed units
(and counters and changing-rooms oh my) come flat-packed, to be
unfolded and built up "according to how many coffee cups are spilled on
them."
This new store looks like something straight out of Michel Gondry's
Science of Sleep, and is a present buyers dream come true. Jam packed
full of the interesting, inspiring, unique and the quirky from big
brands, to one off local designs, be sure to check out this store when
next in London (don't forget to also check out their flagship bookstore
a few doors down) By Brendan Mc Knight