The dynamic of Seoul is very much reflected in its ever-evolving retail landscape which draws hordes of avid shoppers from near and far. Interestingly, it’s particularly the Millennial and Gen Z demographics which gravitate towards the city given its global pop cultural significance, and increasingly, a growing number of home grown fashion brands have started to pitch in as well. In the latter category falls Namsan Wearhouse, a local womenswear brand with a newly reopened boutique in the city’s Myeongdong neighbourhood. Here, the store is tucked away in a maze of alleyways brimming with boutiques and occupies occupies 62 sqm. (667 sq.ft.) spread across two floors of a modern building. Interestingly, the store had already opened, but was forced to temporarily close due to COVID-19 pandemic. Because clothing and other goods were displayed in a variety of designs that weren’t defined by one style, the furniture composition was kept low-key.
This formed the departure point of the store’s new interior design created by Seoul-based architecture unseenbird. A wall-mounted clothing rack runs across the entire ground floor space gives it a certain depth, tying in with the other industrial-style furnishings, while a set of speakers add visual drama. The fitting room is crafted from metal panels, and is moveable too. A sensor detects a shopper’s movements and switches on an external light indicating it’s occupied. The sales counter, crafted from metal plates, playfully embeds another speaker. A concrete staircase leads to the upper floor where, in contrast with downstairs, the flooring is covered in fluffy carpeting, but otherwise paired with a similar industrial setting of exposed concrete bricks, display tables of the same bricks and glass, and additional furnishings and fixtures of metal. The Namsan Wearhouse store stocks the brand’s full range of apparel, accessories, bags and other merchandise. © superfuture
Namsan Wearhouse
27 Myeongdong 6-gil (Myeongdong)
04536 Seoul
Telephone +81 10 28251852
Daily 10am-11pm
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.
