R&G is a new sub-brand of iconic menswear retailer Rodd & Gunn aimed at a younger, edgier market segment. The pilot store is located in a part of an old foundry in Auckland’s Newmarket fashion precinct. It was designed in close collaboration with Rodd and Gunn’s Visual Merchandise Director, as the interior relies heavily on the carefully chosen pieces of memorabilia along with innovative merchandise presentation. ‘Found’ objects give the interior the appearance of a ‘pop-up’ store. The brief called for a raw and industrial aesthetic while still retaining a focus on outdoor living for which the parent brand is well known.
The conventional ‘fitout’ was limited mainly to the store’s shell and services. The shopfront is a mixture of the retained foundry façade with a rough timber door added. The R&G duck logo was subtly added to both the interior and exterior. Low-height stock and fitting rooms were added to the rear. These were clad with a rough, re-claimed timber as was the ceiling. Lighting is also partly re-claimed including some chunky, enclosed, fireproof fluorescent fixtures originally designed for use in explosive environments such as gunpowder factories. The concrete floor was exposed and polished complete with various manholes still embedded. The original steel trusses and new structural steel braces were left untreated and exposed.
Floor fixtures are an eclectic mixture of industrial shelving, benches, trolleys and racks. These were augmented with various vintage props such as chains, pulleys, pieces of furniture, pictures and even a ‘stags’ head as a nod towards the parent brands heritage. Some floor racks were custom made from simple water pipe.
The design is intended to be a distinct departure from a typical menswear shop in a way that reflects this new brand’s a distinctive identity and it’s attributes of ruggedness, honesty and durability.
