We all know football is big business, also off the field. Many a European major league football club not only has a large fanbase on home turf, but very often, also across the planet. And that’s certainly the case with Paris St-Germain, the French capital’s, and also the entire country’s, most successful football club. Paris Saint-Germain, or PSG (pron.: pay-as-zhay) for the die-hard fanbase, has won multiple national championships, two European titles, and a slew of other titles, and quite cleverly, it has additionally banked on its global popularity with retail endeavours. Following a string of branded stores and shop-in-shops at home base Paris, London, New York City, Las Vegas, Miami, Toronto, Doha, Tokyo, and Osaka, a new standalone store has been inaugurated in Seoul.
The retail space measures no less than 660 sqm. (7,104 sq.ft.) spread across four floors of a modern building, and features an interior design by local architecture practice oftn studio. The chosen aesthetic aims to merge local and global elements, creating a ‘vertical plaza’ that takes cues from the experience of strolling through the streets of Paris and exploring its abundance of shops. Unsurprisingly, the ground floor is home to a café by day and a bar by night, and the perfect place for the fanbase to gather to view matches and for some jolly banter. The space is designed in retro style with flexible lighting that adapts to different moods. One floor up, the alluring Paris Saint-Germain merchandise is extensively showcased in a setting which is inspired by locker rooms and waiting areas.
Here, wooden and metallic elements signal the past and present, while also enhancing the Paris Saint-Germain brand identity and values. The third floor is reserved for the store’s rotation of pop-up collaborations. Lastly, the entire top floor is office space. In contrast with the lower floors, the aesthetic is understated with exposed concrete and metal, making it easy to adapt to the many events which are to be held here. Display units and lighting are all moveable while kinetic fixtures and displays further enhance the interactive experience. And that’s not all. Paris Saint-Germain has also solidified its presence in South Korea through its PSG Academy, where nearly 1,000 children in the Seoul metropolitan region train to enhance their football skills using the club’s methods. © superfuture
Paris Saint-Germain
12 Seolleung-ro 157-gil (Apgujeong)
06018 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.
