For the leading fashion boutiques around the world, it's never just about the clothes. Instead, it's about providing an incredible experience to customers from the moment they walk in the door, and much of that comes down to the interiors. From Hermes to the Victoria Beckham brand, we look at five of the most impressive fashion boutiques from around the world.
The New York-based architect Peter Marino designed the interiors of Dior's Tokyo store to reference the feminine and elegant aesthetic of the brand, while adding a contemporary edge. There's a video art wall that plays films of flowers on the ground floor, while the second floor features an entirely mirrored ceiling. Fragrances have their own dedicated space, with floor to ceiling floral prints designed by artist Tim Hailand. The brand says this boutique "embodies a lofty, contemporary atmosphere, while still maintaining the feminine and glamorous aesthetic that reflects the traditional elegance of the house of Dior".
Victoria Beckham London boutique
It took a year to transform the former fishing gear shop into the Victoria Beckham boutique in London. Architect Farshid Moussavi was hand-picked for the job, despite never having worked in retail design.
The result is a multilevel boutique, with an atrium that runs the height of the building and a basement designed for pop-up experiences and to serve as a personal shopping suite. The ground floor and first floor feature the actual collections, with chairs and benches for partners, friends or children to sit on. Design features include American walnut cabinets all made with wood from the same tree, a beetle-shell green glass wall in the changing room, and a polished-concrete staircase.
Hermès, Paris
Hermès' flagship store in Paris had a unique design brief: it was built in the base of a 1935 swimming pool measuring 2,500 square meters. The store is split across multiple levels and features three nine-metre high wooden pavilions made of ash laths, each housing the Hermès collections. There are plenty of references to the original purpose of the space, such as the staircase shaped from curved wood, mimicking a rush of flowing water, and the white and blue mosaic floors throughout.
Images from here.
Giada Milan flagship store
Giada is a unique Chinese-owned, Italian designed fashion brand. It has 46 stores and is a reference point for low profile but exclusive style across China. Architect Claudio Silvestrin was charged with designing the Milanese boutique for the brand. He combined natural materials including leather and different types of stone to deliver a luxurious aesthetic.Rows of roughly-hewn limestone columns provide a textural backdrop to the racks of clothes, while the changing rooms feature walls and floors made from leather with handles in an antique bronze finish. Neither the leather or the stone have been treated or polished, meaning both with age and wear with time to create a 'lived-in' feel to the space.
Images from here.
Siam Discovery, Bangkok Japanese studio Nendo was commissioned to redesign the exterior and interior of a department store in Bangkok. The 40,000-square-metre Siam Discovery Mall plays on the idea of creativity and experimentation, with Nendo describing it is a 'lifestyle laboratory'. There are beakers, flasks, test tubes, and other laboratory equipment throughout the building. In the atrium are 202 boxes with a combination of video monitors, digital signs and merchandise, which function as a modern directory of the centre.
