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Architects: Nenmar
- Area: 370 m²
- Year: 2022
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Photographs:Paul Riddle
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Manufacturers: Lucent
Text description provided by the architects. London-based architecture and interior design studio Nenmar unveils the interiors of the new flagship store of acclaimed fashion designer Emilia Wickstead, whose collections are held in some of the most prestigious retailers in the world. The 370sq m boutique is located at 152-153 Sloane Street, in the heart of Knightsbridge, one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in London. Having delivered prestigious retail spaces, including the four-storeys Thom Sweeney townhouse in London’s Mayfair, Nenmar was appointed to translate Emilia Wickstead’s timeless and elegant simplicity into a sophisticated and effortless interior space.
Sharing the same value of timeless excellence, the studio worked closely with the fashion designer to achieve a boutique that best reflected the brand ethos based on the love for a traditional yet contemporary style and great attention to detail, resulting in a space of understated elegance. With the same idea of excellence and a thoughtful approach, Nenmar interpreted the brief into a meaningful design that creates a memorable customer experience and a real journey of discovery through the different areas. Paying homage to Italian rationalism, best represented by architectural and artistic masterpieces such as Villa Necchi designed by Piero Portaluppi, Nenmar’s inspiration arose from the rational simplicity and functionality of the Italian architecture of the 1920-1940s.
“Our vision for the new flagship store was to create a meaningful space that was the exact translation of Emilia Wickstead’s ethos of timeless sophistication, that we achieved with a rational, functional design based on the application of mathematics to aesthetics, a repetition of geometric shapes and symmetry, exemplified by Andrea Palladio’s architecture” commented Gianluca Nencini, Head of Architecture at Nenmar. The space draws inspiration from the classic yet contemporary partitioning of an Italian palazzo, characterized by a succession of rooms; the new store follows the same approach, and the succession of rooms (and moments) is marked by the presence of marble portals, which formally define the spaces, whilst connecting them.
The movement between the rooms is fluid, and the gaze can stretch uninterrupted across the entire cross-section of the store. Rosa Alicante marble portals guide the customers from the ready-to-wear rooms through to the jewel of the boutique, the bridal area, accessed via mahogany pivot doors and shrouded in fabric to add a further touch of sophistication and personalization. A refined and consistent palette of precious materials, with a chequerboard flooring made of Rosa Alicante and White Carrara marble, is set against bespoke elements such as polished stainless steel hanging rails, and display units and made to measure mirrors. A new bar area was created between the bridal area and the ready-to-wear section, with a stunning 2mt Rosa Alicante marble counter and a bespoke wall polished stainless steel display cabinet. Downstairs, Rosa Alicante's marble shelves display the brand’s selection of homeware. Ironmongery, built-in joinery, and fixed furniture have been designed by Nenmar and made to measure.
