For the very first time Bratislava is on our radar, and rightfully so. Founded by Zora Husarčíková, a seasoned fashion professional who shaped Slovakia‘s budding fashion landscape by organising the annual Fashion LIVE! festival, her SOM retail venture first saw the light of day in 2017. Initially operating online only with the help of creative director Lívia Štokingerová, the store has a focus on a curated range of Slovakian fashion designers. Following a successful pop-up store, SOM inaugurated a permanent retail space in Nivy, the city’s newest shopping centre and transport hub – mind you, the complex is also home to a large underground bus station which offers convenient connections across town – which itself opened a little while ago in the middle of the pandemic.
The SOM store occupies a voluminous 209 sqm. (2,250 sq.ft.) ground floor unit and features an understated interior design by local architecture practice D415. Interestingly, the configuration of the retail space is based on an ingenious X-based grid which creates optically creates a rigid order, but also a seemingly endless range of interesting angles when navigating the premises. The grid, very visible overhead, is made of galvanised steel and it’s intertwined with linear LED lights that run, obviously in-sync with the X-grid, diagonally across an exposed ceiling. A rectangular timber volume cuts through the centre of the retail space and is used for seating or as a display, but halfway, it’s mounted by similarly shaped display cabinet showcasing jewellery pieces, bags, accessories and lifestyle items.
Upon entering, shoppers don’t instantly see the fashion merchandise as it’s almost fully concealed by floor-to-ceiling steel-clad plasterboard panels which are aligned with the omnipresent grid. The white timber sales counter is also tucked away, but still visible from the entrance. The aforementioned rectangular timber volume stretches all the way to the back of the store, leading to two fitting rooms. A matching brand identity for SOM has been created by local practice khn office. As said, SOM exclusively carries Slovak and Czech designers, and as such, it has become an important new platform for the country’s creative scene. The current brand list is quite elaborate and includes names such as Veronika Lokajíčková, Boris Hanečka, Athleeya, Pavol Dendis, Verlein, and Lukáš Krnáč.
SOM
Nivy, Mlynské nivy 5A, Ground Floor (Ružinov)
811 09 Bratislava
Telephone: +421 903 982448
Daily 10am-9pm
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.
