Totally obsessed with shoes, Man-ho Jo founded Musinsa as an online club for kindred spirits in 2001 at the age of 19. In the years that followed, the resourceful Jo first launched Musinsa Magazine, an online trend blog, and gradually added e-commerce activities which has brought Musinsa where it is now—one of the preferred online stores of South Korea‘s trend-obsessed Generation Z with a turnover of approx. USD 248 million in 2020, up a staggering 51% from the year before. Following the opening two years ago of Musinsa Terrace, a hybrid shop and café venue on the 17th floor of Aekyung Tower in the Hongdae area of Seoul, the retailer has scaled up its offline retail operations with a brand new and hotly anticipated flagship store which opened its doors earlier this year. Called Musinsa Standard, named after the company’s very own casual wear line, it occupies 850 sqm. (9,149 sq.ft.) set across four levels of a modern building alongside bustling Yanghwa-ro which forms part of the newly built Mercure Ambassador Hotel complex.
Interestingly, the interior design by Seoul-based architecture practice LABOTORY, takes cues from the monolith in director Stanley Kubrick‘s iconic 1968 sci-fi movie 2001: A Space Oddyssey. The inspiration has been translated into a specific use of materials, volumes and light. The Musinsa Standard shop façade, comprising a grid of backlit panels, vaguely hints the futuristic aesthetic that’s to be found inside, largely anchored by the lighting—embedded linear ceiling lights are alternated by embedded light spots, large swathes of backlit fabric ceiling, and quite prominently, grids of backlit panels which have also been used as flooring on the mezzanine, and which give the premises a bold futuristic twist. And obviously, there’s the striking nod to the movie’s monolith, captured by a pillar which pierces through all Musinsa Standard‘s floors, and is, in fact, an elongated video screen featuring promotional texts and footage. All floors feature open-plan configurations, featuring furnishings and fixtures alongside walls. The brand’s men’s collection is presented in the basement, while the ground floor is home to popular seasonal items. The mezzanine displays new products, while on the second floor the women’s collection can be found.
Musinsa Standard
144 Yanghwa-ro (Hongdae)
04050 Seoul
Telephone: +82 2 3250550
Daily 11am-9pm
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