10 Stunning Storefronts Rethinking the Retail Experience
Bricks-and-mortar retail is far from over—these storefronts prove it.
1. Project: Adeam @ Ginza Six
Firm: Happenstance Collective
Site: Tokyo
Standout: An interwoven stainless steel mesh screen zigzags along the entrance, creating niches for mannequins and forging serenity within hectic shopping mall environs.
2. Project: Hunke Optik
Firm: Ippolito Fleitz Group
Site: Ludwigsburg, Germany
Standout: Luxury spectacles perched on radiant Perspex shelving command attention, while private consulting occurs along the Aspergerstraße facade’s integrated alcoves.
3. Project: Phat Soles
Firm: Interior Design Laboratorium
Site: Athens
Standout: Spotlights illuminate recycled theatre chairs, where customers try on vibrantly colored sneakers amid black sand-blasted fir wood columns and gridded metallic shelving.
4. Project: Dior
Firm: Labvert
Site: Paris
Standout: Sunny motifs abound: the window’s golden soleil sculpture, chandeliers equipped with optical lenses, and wall-mounted glass lamellae all brighten the brand’s first glasses boutique.
5. Project: Cañamiel
Firm: MATERIA
Site: Mexico City
Standout: The budget-minded boutique’s material rawness is exemplified via rearrangeable shelving where Mexican and Latin designers showcase apparel, accessories, and homewares.
6. Project: Max Mara
Firm: Duccio Grassi Architects
Site: New York City
Standout: Hand-treated brass wall surfaces created with Tuscan artisanal techniques nod to Italian craftsmanship, also a focal point in the entrance’s Ceppo di Gré stone flooring.
7. Project: Warby Parker
Firm: JRM Construction Management
Site: Santa Monica, California
Standout: A glass storefront ensures terrazzo flooring, a marble reception desk, solid wood–wrapped shelving, and the curved soffit’s cartoonish illustrations by Steven Harrington soak in sunlight.
8. Project: The Webster
Firm: Christopher Osvai
Site: New York City
Standout: Works by Gaetano Pesce, Pierre Frey, and Maxi Cohen enliven six floors of a historic SoHo cast-iron, host to high-end clothing interwoven amongst Art Deco objets d’art.
9. Project: Vrai & Oro
Firm: Warren Office for Research and Design
Site: Los Angeles
Standout: The female-run jeweler’s ornament-free approach also applies to the flagship’s curved walnut seating, linear brass pendants, and warm lighting, all a toast to understated elegance.
10. Project: Swarovski Kristallwelten
Firm: Fredrikson Stallard
Site: Innsbruck, Germany
Standout: Underneath medieval niches sit museum-like patinated steel vitrines that showcase both the enduring radiance of crystal and the studio’s proficiency with material contrasts.
