Founded in 2001, Berlin-based magazine 032c has resonated well with creative crowds the planet, and especially in fashion circles. The bi-annual publication is headed by founder and creative director Joerg Koch whose forward vision have led to multiple collaborations and workshops with leading brands, artists, and even football clubs. And that’s not all—since 2019, the magazine entered the fashion sphere by launching its first branded fashion collection. The global cult status of 032c has since only accelerated, and as of late, it has reached a new high. The magazine has dabbled in retail before, first with pop-ups and then a permanent standalone shop at home base Berlin, but as of late, the magazine has taken retail overseas by opening a retail and exhibition space, dubbed 032c Gallery, in Seoul.
Established in partnership with leading South Korean fashion platform Musinsa, the space ioccupies a corner unit on the ground floor of a modern office building in Seongsu, a fast-emerging shopping neighbourhood. Designed by Berlin-based architecture practice Gonzalez Haase AAS, 032c Gallery sees two distinct parts. The gallery section, near one of the venue’s large floor-to-ceiling windows, is demarcated by a bright red hue which mimicks the space in Berlin. The retail area, in monochromatic grey, is situated right behind a half-height diagonal wall, and features a clean and uncluttered aesthetic. Intertwining with four existing rows of clustered tubular lights is a meandering, suspended system of sleek and shiny metal rods which, paired with matching wall-mounted shelving, display a curated selection of apparel and other merchandise.
Mind you, the settings have been arranged diagonally to maximise the use of the space. Large mirrors conceal fitting rooms and storage space, while also playfully replicating the corner shape of the space. The newly opened 032c Gallery stocks the entire 032c Readytowear collections, in addition to print issues, posters, and specialty items, while the gallery’s inaugural show is by architecture practice Gonzalez Haase AAS. Entitled Catastrophe Colours, it features a two-screen video installation from its ongoing research project of the same name which focuses on how colours are chosen to be applied in architecture. The wall-mounted screen displays only the colour and title, while the floor screen features the catastrophes via press images related to the colour displayed on the screen above, offering a deeper exploration of the narrative. © superfuture
032c Gallery
14 Seongsui-ro 10-gil (Seongsu)
04793 Seoul
Daily 11am-8pm
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.
