The spending power of China‘s middle class has grown more than tenfold since the turn of the century, boosting the number of goods and services to new heights along the way. This increasingly sophisticated consumer demographic has geared its voracious appetite towards just about any product segment, including underwear. And here’s where Banana in 蕉内, a purveyor of daily men’s and women’s necessities has stepped in with a clever online retail format, and as of late, the retailer also revealed a branded brick and mortar presence in Shenzhen. The ‘model city’ of the booming Pearl River Delta is home to savvy and affluent dwellers, and it’s no surprise Banana in 蕉内 chose to set up shop here. Occupying a 180 sqm. (1,938 sq.ft.) unit at Uniwalk, a major shopping centre in the city’s Baoan district, it features a clean an understated interior design by Some Thoughts, a design and research practice based in Shanghai.
The settings take cues from the technology-driven design and clean aesthetic of Banana in 蕉内‘s product range, and we’d like to mention A Black Cover Design here, the Beijing-based design agency which concepted the brand design. A modest palette of aluminium, rammed earth, terrazzo, and acrylic paint has been used to create maximum visual effect, featuring a set-up which on one hand is open and welcoming to reel in passers-by, but also shielded to offer privacy on the other. Display cabinets arranged in an oblique configuration divide the retail space into a front and back section, creating semi-private nooks along the way to present Banana in 蕉内‘s more intimate products. The most popular items are presented in a large curved display which demarcates part of the outer perimeters of the shop. Large metal light spots, placed in a formation across the ceiling, add to clean and orderly aesthetic. The new Banana in 蕉内 store carries the full range of men’s and women’s underwear, homewear and socks.
Banana in 蕉内
Uniwalk, 99 Shinhu Lu (Baoan)
518104 Shenzhen
Daily 10-10
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.
