Septwolves flagship merges art and fashion

The new Chinese menswear brand Septwolves flagship in Xiamen was designed by Prospace Asia to offer a “stereoscopic fashion experience”.

The idea was to merge the sales area with a fashion lounge/art gallery space for the Xiamen store, the same city where the design company is based.

Septwolves was founded in 1990, positioning itself as a premium menswear designer and retailer with more than 3000 stores throughout China. It wanted its new flagship store to be transformed into an integrated space.

As customers walk through the store they come across themed displays as multi-sensory experiences involving both arts and fashion as events. The store also includes a tailor zone, books, cafe and designer boutique. At its centre is a circular stage, with the other elements of the store becoming part of an open fluid whole, rather than having separated spaces for each category.

The central round void creates a main hall that connects both floors, and it can be transformed for temporary events. There is a mirrored ceiling over the central glass walkway, lit from beneath, with low glass sidewalls and a living green feature wall on one side.

Most of the store features dark brown hues to create a warm, intimate atmosphere. There are such features as suspended shelving and island display units for small pieces, like shoes and bags.

One area, with low-level lighting, has sumptuous leather furniture that lends the air of a gentlemen’s club. In contrast, there is a brightly lit area with more casual seating and a glass-top coffee table, with garden walls in the background.

The shop is over two levels, with a timber spiral staircase as a feature. The arched windows on the second floor are an extension of the ground-level windows.

RFID technology is integrated with the physical environment, supporting a fluid O2O platform to evokes a multi-sensory journey. O2O, or online-to-offline, platforms involve technology that allows brands to take advantage of the convergence of internet/mobile technologies and product-inventory data for increasing in-store sales.

Prospace was established in New Zealand in 1989 as a specialist retail design and interior fitout company that has worked on projects in Australia, the South Pacific, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Indonesia and Europe. Its sister agencies are Prospace China and, in Sydney, Prospace Design.