Firm： ALEKSA studio

Type： Commercial › Retail Shopping Mall

STATUS： Built

YEAR： 2019

SIZE： 0 sqft - 1000 sqft

ALEKSA studio has completed the flagship shop for designer sunglasses brand For Art’s Sake in London’s historic Covent Garden, followed by a sister store in Xiantiandi shopping centre in Shanghai. The stores are united by attention to detail and an aesthetic that is targeted at millennial shoppers, reflecting the elegant and intricate frames produced by the brand. Pastel colours, a selfie station and ‘Instagram spots’ are key design features to ensure that the outlets speak to a style-conscious digital generation.

ALEKSA studio wanted to echo the brand’s eclectic style and so employed a luxurious palette of contrasting materials – mirror polished brass, blue velvet fabric and high gloss white timber, elevating the statement-making frames. Solid curtain-like walls and upholstered display stands in velvet are coloured soft blue to match the company’s signature velvet packaging. Bespoke brass arches create flexible window displays visible from outside the shop. Large display units are carved into the walls and feature faceted and tilted round mirrors, floating shelves and mirror finish brass reveals and skirtings.

The designer created an efficient joinery system that can house the maximum number of sunglasses at any time, encased in opulent velvet-wrapped bases. A key consideration was to make otherwise small space appear bigger by introducing carefully curated angled mirrors and ‘Instagram spots’ within the shop. For Art Sake rose to prominence on social media and it was crucial that the physical experience of the shop encourages visitors to share photos across digital platforms. The design of the store is therefore part of a wider online marketing strategy to engage with new audiences.

ALEKSA Studio director, Aleksa Rizova, said: “The shop designs are inspired by the client For Art’s Sake’s key ethos to celebrate the bold woman – a playful power-dresser, both effortless and elegant. The interiors are refined and yet playful, designed with the millennial generation of shoppers in mind.” The new fit-out in Shanghai incorporates design motifs developed by the architecture studio for the Covent Garden Shop – brass window arches, display units with brass reveals and round mirrors and the signature fluted blue velvet walls. The brand expects to have locations in Hong Kong, Miami and New York by 2020.