There’s no doubt, London remains one of the planet’s leading shopping destinations, and for luxury brands, it’s one of the few places where going the extra yard automatically comes with global exposure. Gaining the limelight season after season is no mean feat, but Balenciaga is pretty good at it on more than level, including retail. Although managing two standalone boutiques and a handful of shop-in-shops across London, the Paris-based fashion house has upped the ante with a third standalone store. Occupying no less than 710 sqm. (7,642 sq.ft.) set across three floors of a 1930s office building on the corner of New Bond Street and Bruton Street, the store sits smack in the middle of one of the British capital’s high-end shopping zones, situated right next to the boutiques of brands from fashion’s upper echelon, such as Hermès, Burberry, Miu Miu, Moschino, Louis Vuitton and Chanel. Balenciaga‘s signature ultra raw retail aesthetic, first introduced at the Sloane Street boutique, is further extrapolated with the help of architect Andrea Faraguna and art director Niklas Bildstein Zaar of design practice sub in Berlin. The premises have been entirely gutted, except for an existing staircase and empty elevator shaft, but see a series of interventions that take the chosen aesthetic to new heights. The infusion of concrete on every floor comes with stains and cracks that look deceptively dated, and the only elements that come across as distinctly new are the metal front door, displays, cabinets and many fixtures. The new Balenciaga store carries men’s and women’s apparel, accessories, shoes, bags, small leather goods, jewellery and eyewear.
Balenciaga
24/25 New Bond Street (Mayfair)
London W1S 2RN
Telephone: +44 20 73183266
Mon-Sat 10am-9pm
Sun 12pm-6pm
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.
