The KORRES boutique store in Sorbonne was renovated in 2024 by TRAIL [practice] and re-opened in early 2025. It is housed in the original location of the first store for the Greek Natural Beauty and Skincare brand in the French capital, which has been operating for more than a decade at the exact same spot, forming a staple for the neighborhood and its loyal customers. The project marks the evolution of the brand’s architectural identity and reinforces its collaboration with TRAIL.

A Long-standing Collaboration

In 2021, a couple of years prior to the refurbishment of the Sorbonne Store by TRAIL [practice], another KORRES store was launched in Paris, in the lavish neighborhood of Marais. Both retail spaces, along with the KORRES New York flagship store, were designed by TRAIL [practice] and form a consistent triptych that reflects the brand’s current vision and aesthetics. TRAIL has been a long-term design partner of KORRES. The ties of this collaboration go back in time, when the Founder of TRAIL, Manos Babounis, was an in-house Interior Designer at KORRES until he became the Head of the Interior Architecture Team, delivering numerous projects across the globe and translating the KORRES identity into commercial spaces of all scales. Moreover, the mastermind behind the now iconic KORRES brand, Giorgos Korres, and Babounis share the same birthplace, the Aegean Island of Naxos - a place that ceaselessly inspires them both as entrepreneurs and business-owners.     

Design Challenges in Quartier Latin

The renovation of the first KORRES store in Paris, in the heart of Quartier Latin, was a challenge from the very first moment. The architectural objective was twofold: on one hand to evolve the architectural expression of the KORRES rebranding, and on the other, to create a commercial space that meets the high standards of the Parisian market.
The limited area of the space and the strongly paragon shape of the floor plan urged TRAIL to define four axes to optimally organize the customers’ circulation and the separate areas of the store. The large openings of the façade compensate for the lack of space in the interior, allowing plenty of natural light to diffuse inside. The openings urge a constant interplay with the Parisian cityscape within the store: with the Sorbonne University, the Paul Painlevé Park, and the vivid bustle of the Rue des Écoles.

A Refined, Monochromatic Palette

White prevails in both the interior and exterior of the boutique. A more unambiguous approach regarding the color palette -especially in the interior- has matured in the brand’s latest projects. White creates a more ‘clean-cut’ canvas for product display and is also associated with Greece, one of the brand’s core pillars. The varied materiality of the white elements in the interiors (Naxian marble, curtains, timber constructions) subtly disturb this monochromaticity. The American walnut constructions serve as focus points in the white scenery, and elements made of galvanized metal sheet stand out as the more premium components of the project.
Custom furnishings form a staple for KORRES and G.Korres himself. He started his career as a pharmacist at his mother’s pharmacy, one of the oldest apothecaries in Greece,  where he delved into the merits and health benefits of nature surrounded by iconic furnishings. 
Inside the Sorbonne store, a more refined version of the ‘Nissos’ shelving system is displayed, designed with more delicate proportions and custom wood-carved profiles, inserted piecemeal along the pillars - a reference to decorative elements of timber tables and seats from the Greek carpentry. The centerpiece is also an outstanding item: a display table that morphologically alludes to a laboratory table but is functionally reworked into an innovative commercial piece, by converting the upper drawers into opening display cases that provoke interaction with customers. They can also be adapted according to seasonal needs or promotional brand campaigns.
“The creation of a recognizable brand identity for KORRES, requires the synthesis of an architectural vocabulary that is subtly repeated, crafting worlds within worlds. This challenging demand brings architecture, interior, industrial, and graphic design into a synergistic process, evolving simultaneously across different design scales.”, states Manos Babounis.

A Boudoir-Inspired Make-Up Corner

The store design completes with a unique item - a boudoir-like wardrobe presented as a hybrid piece of furniture designed specifically for the KORRES Make-Up corner. A double-leaf wooden wardrobe with braided boards on the back, is placed ‘open’ on one side of the store, creating a unique corner. Inside it, drawers and mirrors are placed on one side, and on the other, sits a cabinet fully lined with mirrors to display Make-Up products. Multiple reflections open up the space and bring the consumer into the center of the shopping experience.

Team:
Client: KORRES  
Design team:  Manos Babounis, Chara Marousi 
Product & graphic design: The Backyard Lab 
Photography:  Margarita Yoko Nikitaki