Dalziel and Pow December review of stores we love. New global retail store openings and inspiration. Click here to view this month's selection.
December saw more etailers branch into bricks-and-mortar, and high-concept flagships drawing diverse inspiration from the NYC subway to Nordic myth. Take a look at our pick…
Launched in September 2014 by Central Saint Martins graduate Nicolai Schaanning Lartsen, YME Universe is Oslo’s answer to Colette or Dover Street Market – “a curated universe of fashion, art, interiors and design”. Housed in a preserved mid-19th century building, the store has three main floors each with a unique interior representing part of a mythic Scandinavian tale of ice, fire, blackened emptiness and rebirth. This is definitely worth a look if you are visiting the Scandinavian city, especially once the landscaped roof terrace overlooking central Oslo opens to the public in summer 2015.
The brand opened their first brick-and-mortar store earlier this year, and have followed this up with a Christmas pop-up just for men. We had the pleasure of visiting the store during one of our visits to New York recently, and browsed shelves filled with a stylish mix of lifestyle items such as duffle bags and whisky glasses, alongside the main beauty offer of building your own men’s Birchbox or buying individual beauty items.
The previously online-only retailer NN.07 recently opened its first 2,500sqft concept store in the heart of Copenhagen, featuring a spacious 6m high ceiling. The store is meant to bring to life the brand identity and core values – dedication to detail, burning desire and blazing new trails. The handcrafted interior balances designed objects and customised furniture to create a warm, streamlined ambience. The carefully selected materials consist of brass, marble, concrete and oiled wood, such as ash and smoked oak.
Asics recently opened a 4,000sqft store on Times Square, approaching the retail design with a localisation in mind. Store elements include a shoe wall referencing the New York street grid, a restored ‘subway car 8394? and a MTA Subway car from 1961 that houses the brands heritage collection. Ceiling-hung fixtures, mounted on rails, are easily moved to open-up the sales floor for morning stretching, yoga classes and evening product presentations, alongside a branded locker area for runners to use when trying out Asics products in the nearby Central Park.
Luxury retailer I.T has opened a store dedicated to Rei Kawakubo’s diffusion line, Comme des Garçons. The small, neutral store, measuring 1,168sqft, has playful touches such as the brand’s iconic polka-dot pattern transferred onto glass shelving, and display units dipped in a soft pink hue.
