It’s a far cry from the era in which its shops could be found in ‘hidden’ locations. However, this retail space is also nestled deep in an intricate urban fabric, and it’s of Seoul‘s leafy Hannam neighbourhood to be precise. We’re talking Maison Margiela and its new flagship store in the South Korean capital which is nothing short of a bold retail statement. Interestingly, the flagship store occupies approx. 291 sqm. (3,132 sq.ft.) spread across two floors of a redeveloped residential structure built in the 1970s. Designed by Maison Margiela‘s in-house design team in Paris, the house has seen a significant makeover, and the premises are now dipped in a white hue, the brand’s signature retail colour, making it effortlessly stand out from the surrounding area. While the character of the character of the house has been retained, many new interventions create a unique shopping experience.
Based on the concept of ‘appropriate use of the inappropriate’, Maison Margiela’s code of breaking conventions, it has spawned a retail space, café, and garden. Plaster columns which dot the retail space are painted white, evoking memories of fabrics according to Maison Margiela’s unique expression method of ‘memory of’ which symbolises the distortion of the painted surface and evokes the concept of the touch of handmade fabrics which is unique and can’t be reproduced. Additionally, a series of custom-made marble furniture pieces with a deconstructed look, a nod to Maison Margiela‘s sartorial legacy, add to the period feel of the premises, while architectural elements were restored by also using the brand’s aformentioned décortiqué technique.
Mind you, the flooring of the flagship store is imprinted with the footprints of the brand’s iconic Tabi shoes. The new Maison Margiela flagship store carries the full range of merchandise—men’s and women’s apparel, accessories, shoes, bags, small leather goods, jewellery and fragrances. In celebration of the much-publicised store opening, a month-long showcase of the Maison Margiela 5AC bag interpreted by a number of South Korean artists is helf on the premises further elevate the shopping experience (on through Nov 30). As said, there’s a café on the premises, situated right next to the store entrance. Set up in collaboration with Bonanza Coffee, the café seats a maximum of nine people, and has ample views of the beautifully landscaped garden. © superfuture
Maison Margiela
8-7 Daesagwan-ro 11-gil (Hannam)
04401 Seoul
Telephone +81 2 7927780 store / +81 2 7927790 café
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.
