In the arty Paris district of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Stockholm design studio Halleroed has designed a new boutique for French bag and luggage brand L/Uniform.
Taking cues from the brand’s simple, rational approach to design, Halleroed design lead Ruxandra Halleröd created a series of backdrops that allow the products to “pop out in a beautiful way”.
The boutique is comprised of two rooms that drawing on L/Uniform’s French heritage alongside a mixture of Japanese and Scandinavian design traditions – also known as Japandi.
The first room was designed to nod to the vernacular of the traditional French marketplace, with stepped display furniture and rustic materials, such as walls papered in woven raffia.
“It reminds us of L/Uniform’s use of French canvas on its more functional bags, but on a bigger scale,” Halleröd told Dezeen.
“We used a Shaker-inspired approach where bags are hung from hooks. There’s an association with everyday market life because some of these bags are specifically made for bringing to the market.”
To create a striking visual contrast with the natural textures of this space, Halleroed added a monolithic display table in deep burgundy with a high-gloss finish.
The second room is more “elegant and eclectic”, according to Halleröd. Here, L/Uniform’s leather handbags are displayed against a palette of soft pink and green, featuring an olive-coloured velvet sofa and pistachio display cabinet alongside tactile elements like the handwoven jute-and-wool carpet.
The same glossy red finish from the first room is also reprised – in this case applied to two exposed pipes, around which Halleroed has constructed a low timber cabinet.
“We worked with colour, texture and material as one entity, creating contrast and also unity,” said Halleröd.
Around the counter, Halleroed added cedar cladding “for a Japanese look and feel”.
This is mirrored across the shop with details such as a rice-paper pendant light by Isamu Noguchi and chairs by George Nakashima, as well as cedar table lamps with rice-paper shades created by a Japanese cabinetmaker.
Gallic influences are reflected in the lighting by Pierre Chareau and Charlotte Perriand and the bush-hammered limestone floor, which according to Halleröd has a “calm, vintage touch that for us is very French”.
Halleroed also brought Swedish elements into the mix, reflecting the studio’s own approach.
“With our minimalist Scandinavian mindset, we prefer to work with fewer elements and materials but in a conscious and precise way,” said Halleröd.
“Working with wood and craft is something that I think is common for both Japan and Sweden, while we think of the warm tones here as being both French and Japanese.”
“Many of the items in the store were handmade specifically for the space, which was important for us since we believe that this reflects the L/Uniform mentality and approach,” she added.
Since it was founded in 1998, Halleroed has completed a number of high-end boutiques around the world.
Among them are an Acne Studios store in Chengdu and various outposts for Swedish streetwear brand Axel Arigato in Berlin, Paris, Copenhagen and London.
The photography is by Ludovic Balay
Source: Rooms - dezeen.com
