At 78-11 Cheongdam Dong, in the fashion district of Gangnam-gu, the boutique has an area of 400 square meters, divided into four levels. The design has been done around the original concept of the creative director of the maison Riccardo Tisci, and the research conducted by the Milan-based studio Piuarch.
The building has a graphic geometrical structure, like an enlarged oil slick, with a hyper-minimal interior that reflects the themes and allure of the brand, to form a clear contrast with the products. The four levels of the building offer the men’s, women’s and accessories collections, for a unique vision of ready-to-wear luxury: both urban and couture.
Designed as a sort of wrapper, the building facade is a sort of second skin, with a relief pattern: an expression of an urban identity that evokes the characteristic T-cut of the French brand’s tailoring. The ashlared surface of the electro-polished steel sheets creates a mutable effect, depending on the angle of the light. At the top the facades opens in a clear citation of the famous T-cut, revealing a detail of satin-finish brass. Besides directly evoking a characteristic design styling feature of Givenchy, this sign becomes a landmark for passers-by on the large Cheongdam street.
Inspired by Op Art and the workmanship of the fabrics used by Givenchy in the latest collections, the corrugated sheet metal of the facade has irregular openings, which give the building a constantly shifting appearance at night. Piuarch expresses the iconic, suggestive element in the facade that represents the values of the Givenchy trademark. To do this, the nature of a tailoring process has been shifted to the urban and sculptural scale: a shiny black cube that rests on an entirely glazed ground floor.
The furnishing details and those of the facade also express a tailor-made use of material. The overall concept of the interior design is conveyed by particular research on materials: Calacatta and Sahara noir marble, basalt stone, joined by different features to create an elegant contemporary spirit. One outstanding presence is the internal staircase clad in Sahara noir marble, detached from the wall with ramps that rise in different directions.

www.givenchy.com
www.piuarch.it