Although one of China‘s many lesser known metropolises, Shenyang is home to approx. 7 million inhabitants, and a large number fashion-conscious youth are eager to spend the ample disposable income they have on luxury lifestyle goods. Riding the wave of popularity of K-pop and other South Korean cultural concoctions, Gentle Monster is steadily expanding its retail empire, and as of late, especially across China. Closer to Seoul than Shanghai and Beijing – two cities where the eyewear brand already has firmly established itself in recent years – it makes total sense to set up shop in this burgeoning city. The Gentle Monster store occupies a ground floor unit at The MixC, a large and modern shopping mall in the heart of the city where the majority of luxury and premium brands have set up shop.
It features an interior design created by the company’s in-house design team, bearing the theme New Normal, and needless to say, it’s anything but mainstream. The objective was to create a futuristic world in which Artificial Intelligence has already rooted itself in human life. Shoppers are greeted at the entrance by a moving installation with a statue of a shepherd boy, apparently in a dozed off state, with a backdrop of sci-fi imagery. Gentle Monster eyewear is interspersed on display, but also on shelving flanking the installation. Fantastical pastoral scenes depicted on the ground lead to a second installation marked by a gilded lion’s head. The new Gentle Monster store carries the full range of eyewear, in addition to the brand’s recently launched collab collection with actor Kris Wu.
Gentle Monster
The MixC, 288 Qingnian Dajie, Shop L234 (Heping)
110004 Shenyang
Telephone: +86 24 31877702
Daily 10-10
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