Despite tightening government rules in recent years, luxury remains an obsession in China, especially among young, savvy and ardently aspiring consumers. A retailer aiming to fully appeal to the latter demographic’s lifestyle is Luxemporium. Hailing from Shanghai, the company is obviously present in the country’s traditional first-tier cities and new first-tier cities, but more interestingly, it has pioneered so-called buyers stores the upper segment in a string of places in both the latter category and also in second-tier cities. A number of places across China have significantly grown in affluence, climbing the ranks and spawning a matching retail infrastructure along the way. One of such cities is Changsha. Claiming a history which dates back to 3,000 BC, it’s now a flourishing commercial and technology hub with a population of approx. 5 million. Luxemporium has a strong affiliation with Wangfujing, a shopping centre operator with properties nationwide, and similar to its other outposts, the newest buyers store in Changsha opened on the premises of the local Wangfujing branch.
Situated on the second floor, the store occupies a palatial 1,400 sqm. (15,070 sq.ft.) unit with an evocative interior design by All Design Studio, an architecture practice based in Shanghai. The chosen design theme ‘Parallel World’ speaks volumes of a highly experiential setting that aims to woo customers off their socks, and if you ask us, that’s exactly what it does. Featuring different sections, each one boasts a distinct futuristic aesthetic in which metal in various guises plays a dominant role. As customers navigate through the store, the design of the contrasting sections not only evoke a visually tantalising world, but also a strong sense of adventure that’s amplified by a sophisticated use of colour and lighting. The latter elements also create a visual coherence that undeniably contributes to how Luxemporium‘s brand identity. The new Luxemporium store carries men’s and women’s collections of a wide range of international luxury and premium brands, including Celine, BOYY, Thom Browne, Jacquemus, Balenciaga, Alexander Wang and Loewe.
Luxemporium
Wangfujing, 27 Huangxin Zhong Lu, Second Floor (Pozijie Jiedao Area)
410005 Changsha
Daily 10am-10pm
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.
