Concept Store

Jueves 12 diciembre 2019

Dover Street Market: 15 years revolutionizing the London retail landscape

These are not good times for the survival of those areas that are the essence of authenticity and uniqueness and which add that singular character which is sorely lacking in most cities. The retail and multi-brand stores that bear the taste and style of their owner are gradually disappearing in those same homogenized cities with their identical shopping streets full of multi-brand chains and other shops with insipid character that appeal only to monotony and boredom. The culture of the clone seems still not to know its limits.
It is not a pessimistic vision, it is a reality that we also perceive in other fields, but maybe in the face of so much uniformity, whenever someone or something deviates from the norm, it attracts even more attention. And one of these magical areas is Dover Street Market.

The retail sale revolution

Dover Street Market has just turned 15 and its legacy is present in the main international fashion capitals. Its creators, the Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo , architect of Comme des Garçons, and her husband Adrian Joffe wanted to conceive their own experiment: an “anti-department” store, where everything flowed in the same concept, that would bring together in the same space both acclaimed or avant-garde designers and new talent. An inspirational fashion and beauty concept store dedicated to creating sensory experiences for customers with constant product renewal. The important thing is to generate surprise via novelty and the unexpected.
Dover Street Market first opened its doors in 2004 and in its day it revolutionized the retail landscape with its successful formula. The ideas of Kawakubo and Joffe were clear: they were not targeting a particular customer, nor did they want to separate the store into fixed departments. Quite the opposite: they wanted to create a unique concept where everything flowed, in accordance with the spirit of each brand, in order to capture the attention of the aesthete audience that loves both classic and avant-garde, young designers and luxury brands. A place capable of attracting and inspiring, “that stimulates the senses, elevates the spirit and makes one feel positive,” declared Joffe to Vogue.

Rei Kawakubo called it the principle of “beautiful chaos” : the desire to break with the lifelong conventions of retail trade to favour the creation of a vast collaborative area in which the friends and family of Comme des Garçons could congregate, interact with each other and present their brands in new and dynamic ways.
This innovative trading concept, together with others that have marked a trend in the last decade, has spread throughout the world, from New York to Los Angeles, Beijing, Tokyo and Singapore. The most recent area opened in October in a shop dedicated to perfumes and cosmetics in Paris: the new invention is called Dover Street Perfume Market.

Martes 17 enero 2017

The Winning Trio in Independent Design

NU02 - Gratacós

They are not everyday designers and each of them maintains his or her differing style within the independent design sector, a cake to be divided up between creators who share the same philosophy: authenticity, character, workmanship, honesty and just some doses of austerity. Txell Miras, Josep Abril y Miriam Ponsa gelled very well in the Rec district of Igualada, where in the same presentation space they defended their creations before the consumers who were visiting the Rec.0 Experimental Stores, a commercial initiative in a temporary format where twice a year fashion companies sell their stock. This casual alliance, together with good relations between the three of them swiftly led towards a robust and motivating project for all three.

Some years ago the experimental shop Project #01 in the district of Le Marais, the celebrated fashion district of Paris, was born in a similar way. The good welcome it received in the French capital was key to its successful move to Barcelona. In a similar way, when NU#2 emerged last year in the Eixample it revitalized local trade with its offering of alternative design, its ethics and aesthetics far away from the traditional franchises and chain-stores that flood the centre of Barcelona.

NU#2 is not a conventional shop and the presentation are reflects the essence of the designs and the personality of its creators. As its name indicates, #NU2 is a reference to nudity and its radical approach is to show the world fashion such as they conceive it, without make-up or cover-up. Situated in a 260m2 former store-house for electrical materials #NU2 recreates the spirit of the original space by preserving its structure and the charm of its old industrial aesthetic as found in the cracks in the walls or faults in the floor. In it Txell Miras, Josep Asbril and Miriam Ponsa exhibit the season’s male and female fashion collections while at the same time housing other designers with a similar attitude and which complement what is on offer, such as handbags by Cristina Corres, shoes by the Mallorcan Pep Monjo, pieces of industrial design by Aparentment or the spectacular metallic furniture of Jonathan Singleton, who was also responsible for the lay-out of the shop-window and for what is hanging in the shop. Nothing is there just by chance.

The space is also often utilized as a multi-purpose hall where events are held which are linked to independent fashion. Recently the influential Catalan trio opened a new shop, #NU3 situated on the creator design floor in Pedralbes Centre. One more reason to confirm that a different form of production and consumption is possible and totally necessary within the current panorama.

NU02 - Gratacós

NU02 - Gratacós

NU02 - Gratacós

NU02 - Gratacós

NU02 - Gratacós

NU02 - Gratacós

Jueves 08 septiembre 2016

The eclectic universe of Jaime Beriestain

How do we captivate the soul of an interior designer? In a concept store that reflects its spirit, style and personality. Ultimately, his essence.

Chilean born Jaime Beriestain has achieved it in a shop and a café that have consolidated themselves as emblems in Barcelona. Two warm cosmopolitan spaces that transmit their personal signature. Art, music, interior design, cuisine, flowers, books and aromas come together on these premises. Here, the renowned interior designer shares his passions with his visitors; anecdotes from his trips, conversations about art and music or simply the pleasure of having a drink together. Not for nothing he considers it like his own home. “Here I have on display everything that I would like to have in my own home, but don’t have space. I love welcoming people and everything that it involves: thinking of the menu, going to the market, preparing the table, choosing the tableware, the flowers, the music” assures Beriestain.

Since opening in 2013, Beriestain´s emblematic shop has become a mandatory visit in the City. This 500m2 multipurpose space is becoming increasingly popular and combines a café-restaurant, a cocktail bar, a concept store and a florist.

The Concept Store dedicated to home design encapsulates Jaime Beriestains’ electic tastes. There, we can find furniture and vintage objects together with other more contemporary ones under one harmonious and aesthetical space. There are also handmade objects, especially crockery and collections designed by him himself in rugs, cushions, stationery, document holders and bamboo furniture. “Each concept store shows the spirit of its creator. Mine is the extension of my wishes, everything that I like and that excites me” he explains.

In this multi space, we can also find the interior designers’ Café and Showroom that is located in a sophisticated surrounding that oozes culture. Works of art from his private collection hang on the wall and photographs of his favourite artists such as Peter Halley, Jason Martin or Biosco Sodi, amongst others. Being the good host and gourmet that he is, Berestain also offers his diners traditional cuisines specials, profound tastes that combine with first quality wines and beers. For those who love something sweet, Beriestain also includes an extensive menu of homemade desserts such as chocolate Spheres, the Jaime cake or his famous Cookies.

In short, Jaime Beriestain has come up with a versatile made to measure space, a second home to share his tastes with all the people of Barcelona and make them feel like they are at home. Gratacós completely recommends this place both for its aesthetics and ethics. Have you not visited it yet?

Jaime Beriestain - interiorismo - gratacos

Jaime Beriestain - interiorismo - gratacos

Jaime Beriestain - interiorismo - gratacos

Jaime Beriestain - interiorismo - gratacos

Jaime Beriestain - interiorismo - gratacos

Jaime Beriestain - interiorismo - gratacos

Jaime Beriestain - interiorismo - gratacos

Jaime Beriestain - interiorismo - gratacos

Jaime Beriestain - interiorismo - gratacos

Jaime Beriestain - interiorismo - gratacos

Jaime Beriestain - interiorismo - gratacos