There’s no denying, China‘s luxury voraciousness knows no boundaries, and in the current global pandemic, its sizeable market has gained even greater prominence for players in the top segment across the globe. Needless to say, local retail continues to expand and diversify, catering to the fast-increasing sophistication of consumers. Next to the leading fashion hubs Shanghai and Beijing, Chengdu is being touted by insiders as a shopping destination to watch, and in the past few years a number of high-profile luxury brands and well-stocked independent boutiques have set up shop here. One of the latest names arriving onto the city’s buzzing retail scene is Luxemporium, a high-end Chinese multi-brand retailer with prestigious outposts nationwide, and the one opened at Wangfujing shopping centre, is no exception. Situated on the ground floor, the store measures a whopping 2,060 sqm. (22,174 sq.ft.) and features an interior design by Shanghai-based architecture and interior design practice All Design Studio. Inspired by outer space and its many unfathomable theories, and ‘parallel universe’ and ‘time travel’ in particular, the retail space features a series of different settings, all with a futuristic edge, and some also intricately constructed.
Upon entering the premises, shoppers encounter a gate-like construction with mannequins which leads to a chamber which mimics the aesthetic of a spacecraft control centre. The walls are lined with backlit floor-to-ceiling shelving units laden shoes, paired with just a few furnishings—sleek cushioned benches, a display table with a built-in greenhouse full of lush greens, and a circular tiered display, all reflected in mirrored ceiling panels. Luxemporium‘s blue zone is dedicated to is top 20 best-selling shoes and handbags, presented in a number of settings interspersed with seating, including a carousel-like structure and matching benches. A large evocative sculpture demarcates a contrasting area in soft pink which playfully takes cues from the sand dunes in the Star Wars films. Here, the store’s elaborate apparel collections are presented. A special area is dedicated to the denim collections and down jackets, featuring a setting encased in a grid representing digital snow and furnished with ice cube-inspired installations, clothing racks of chunky steel and shiny silver, and a spacecraft structure which doubles as a display. Newly opened Luxemporium is brimming with high-end brands, and includes coveted names such as Alexander McQueen, Nicholas Kirkwood, Saint Laurent, Off-White, Chloé, Versace and Thom Browne.
Luxemporium
Wangfujing, 2 Kehua Zhong Lu, Shop L01-023
610064 Chengdu
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
