This project continues a long-standing working relationship with the fashion designer Hussein Chalayan. The design of his first London shop is based around the concept of a ‘shop within a shop’ and the notion of stepping into another world. A threshold zone at the entrance defines a liminal zone; an in-between space that marks the transition between street and shop. The simple insertion of a black steel frame defines the shop within the existing space, one simple move that creates both definition and a hanging rail for the clothes. Only two objects sit within the space – the black hull of a boat which transforms from display to a dinner table, and a sleek black cash desk with a digital timer set flush into it’s surface. A language has been developed with Hussein over the last 10 years, and some of this language has been carried through from previous projects; the triangular shaped tiles and black pebbles that separate the steel frame from the walls of the shop. The space has been designed not just as a retail environment but an event space for shows, talks and performances.

Previous projects for Chalayan include his shop in Tokyo, his first solo exhibition at The Design Museum “From Fashion and Back” (which also toured to Tokyo and Istanbul) and a large scale exhibition at Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris.

The shop is now open.