Delvaux Tokyo

Architect: Vudafieri Saverino Partners
Location: Tokyo, Japan | View Map
Project Year: 2023
Category: Shops

Courtesy Of GARDE

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Delvaux Tokyo

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Vudafieri-Saverino Partners design the new Delvaux flagship store in Tokyo: a conceptual space combining the retail experience with the brand’s heritage The Milan-based architecture studio expresses Delvaux's core values with luxury and savoir faire, blending the Maison's Belgitude with the charm of Japan.

photo_credit Courtesy Of GARDE — Courtesy Of GARDE

The retail experience increasingly aims to immerse the customer in a brand’s core values. It is the designers’ task to express this emotional narrative through the language of design and architecture. Vudafieri-Saverino Partners is the creative force behind the new Delvaux flagship store in Tokyo, in the heart of Omotesando, a stylish shopping district lined with the stores of the biggest names in international fashion.

The Milan-based architecture studio has handled the Delvaux boutique’s global concept since 2012. Their most recent interior project for the Maison, founded in Brussels in 1829, dovetails seamlessly with the house’s visual language while still retaining its own unique identity. The new Tokyo space celebrates the history of the world’s oldest and most prestigious luxury leather goods brand, its Belgian identity and its exquisite craftsmanship, while also paying homage to the history and culture of the location.

Delvaux, which currently boasts more than 40 stores worldwide, has naturally chosen an exceptional setting: the flagship store in Tokyo, which occupies 250 sq m spread over two floors, is situated within the iconic Omotesando Hills, a shopping complex designed by world renowned Japanese architect Tadao Andō. The new store’s striking front, a spectacular 20m high glass facade, features an installation extending over the boutique’s two floors: a large golden tree, inspired by the crown of the Delvaux logo, climbs from the lower level up to the first floor, acting as both backdrop and artistic showcase for the products on display. At the entrance, sections of the storefront are highlighted with LED strips in the colours of the Belgian flag, and throughout the space Delvaux’s distinctive identity is reflected in the choice of furnishing, the luxury materials and the lighting.

Claudio Saverino and Tiziano Vudafieri conceived the interiors as a sequence of spacious and elegant spaces, each with its own personality, which instantly convey the brand’s signature refinement, sophisticated taste and attention to detail. The foyer welcomes the customer into an inviting space, defined by the warmth of the wood flooring and hand-finished white walls, as well as the discreet, minimalist wall displays.

The curved shelving is a contemporary take on the iconic Flemish cabinet featured in different iterations in every Delvaux boutique. It borders the staircase leading up to the store’s most impressive and spectacular space: a large-scale image of the Grand Place in Brussels, its decorative and aesthetic wealth encompassing the entire area, and reaching as far as the upper floor. The black and white images of the Gothic and Baroque buildings of the Grand Place provide the perfect backdrop for the colours and shapes of the Delvaux bags and accessories, offering guests an immersive experience bordering on the surreal. On the ground floor, the lounge area - a sort of cabinets de curiosités entirely swathed in burgundy velvet - overlooks this charming European square, and the Delvaux Bar with its burnished brass counter provides a place for mixing and interacting with customers, as well as a showcase for the leather goods.

The wrought iron handrail on the staircase pays homage to the eighteenth-century original in Delvaux’s historic Brussels flagship store. The stairs lead to the upper floor, which offers views of the elegant tree-lined avenue of Omotesando, while the black and white skyline of the Grand Place leads up from the lower floor to become a kind of parapet, creating an evocative and dreamlike frame for the unique experience offered by the store. This space houses a private lounge complete with bespoke seating and a luxury silk and wool rug by Golran. The chandelier - custom designed by Vudafieri-Saverino Partners - takes centre stage, combining six wooden wall lights designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and produced by historic Japanese brand Yamagiwa.