Vasquiat Room

José Hevia

• Architects

Vasquiat opens in Barcelona its first physical shop "VASQUIAT ROOM".

VASQUIAT, the avant-garde fashion marketplace founded by Blanca Miró and Rafa Blanc, transfers the experience of the online world to the physical space.

Designed by This is Odd and GCA Architects with the artist and designer Cristian Herrera, VASQUIAT ROOM opens its doors as a multifaceted store: a hybrid between a constantly updated physical catalogue and a meeting point for fashion and design lovers. With this idea in mind and located at 243 Provença Street, between Rambla Catalunya and Paseo de Gracia, it is a non-conformist, flexible and welcoming space that combines perfectly with the avant-garde character of the VASQUIAT product.

“We do not want to make a physical shop, what we seek is to expand the VASQUIAT universe and transfer the essence of our marketplace to a shopping experience whose main focus is the discovery of emerging designers and the fitting room moment, which is not found in the online world”, says Rafa Blanc, CEO and Co-Founder.

When designing the VASQUIAT ROOM, we have opted for a combination of interesting elements, colours and textures that allow for an experience in which to contemplate, feel and discover “There is a chromatic proposal that consists of finding a harmony through singular colours. This balance allows us to present the space as neutral yet personal”, describes Andrea, partner of GCA Architects.

VASQUIAT ROOM is distinguished by its extensive catalogue and exceptional dynamism. New brands, designers and very different types of products are added weekly, carefully curated by the VASQUIAT team. “We need a space that is 100% adaptable and allows us to have floor-length coats, shoes, hats, vases and crockery without conditioning us” is how Cris Moya, co-founder of This is Odd, describes the challenge posed by Vasquiat.

To accommodate and emphasise the temporality and changing particularity of the VASQUIAT product, Cristian Herrera has designed a bar that runs around the perimeter of the premises like a rail so that all kinds of garments and products can move around the shop, creating a dynamic 360º circuit. For the "fitting room moment", a key element of the space-room, a cubic volume has been defined, which, thanks to the materials used, delicately envelops and accompanies this exclusive moment of the offline experience.

The untreated walls and ceilings, respecting the pre-existing "voltas catalanas", remind us of the essence of the place, and at the same time contrast with the treatment given to the planes in which the client lives his tactile experience "carpet on his feet, fabric in his hands", the floor has been dressed in a striking orange tone of Cotlin's EUPHORIA carpet and the walls of the entrance area have been upholstered, in chromatic continuity with the floor, with Güell Lamadrid velvet, and, on the other hand, the inside of the fitting room has been upholstered with velvet in a striking red tone.

This intention of designing a neutral container that would help the products to stand out yet personal is reflected in a unique language that combines materials such as iron, wood, velvet and carpet, or the same Inox of the Jodul products used in the most intimate corner of the shop (the bathroom). All these friendly, noble materials that age well with time, bring together the qualities that we find in the product offered by VASQUIAT; an essential premise to be transferred to the design of the space.

The opening of this establishment is a real challenge, expanding the online world, it goes a step beyond the pop up format, to become a flagship shop in Barcelona. The good reception of the ephemeral retail format, reflecting a customer happy to interact physically with the brand, is the clear prelude to the success that will undoubtedly turn the VASQUIAT-ROOM into an iconic shop.