McQ, the second line of English fashion house Alexander McQueen, will open its first flagship store on London’s Dover Street on September 10th. McQ was established in 2006 as a diffusion line focusing on a younger customer and was first presented in the runway at London Fashion Week last February.
The store has been conceived by Alexander McQueen’s Creative Director Sarah Burton and realised together with David Collins studio. Sarah has expressed her idea of creating a story and a home for McQ:
“The flagship on Dover Street is an extension of McQ world. The store will offer special catwalk pieces alongside ready-to-wear collections in a rich and immersive McQ environment.”
Architect David Collins decided to create a parallel view of Alexander McQueen when he started working on the store project:
“We looked at fetish. We wanted the home of McQ to be a parallel view of Alexander McQueen, where eroticism is part of the fabric and design that slowly unfolds throughout the store.”
Source: nylonguysmagazine.tumblr.com via Veronica on Pinterest
Inspiration
Boudoir meets Brutalism and futuristic, interactive hi-tech in with a strong emphasis on surrealism, reflecting the world of McQ Alexander McQueen.
The store presents references to the handwriting of McQ throughout, from rich velvet to precious hand-crafted finishing as well as tough, utilitarian fixtures inspired by modernism and street culture.
The Store
McQ flagship store is situated within a Georgian townhouse, with a total retail space of 3,000 square feet over three floors. The store will be home to the entire collection of the line, offering the full mens and womenswear commercial collections and McQ shoes, accessories and runway pieces.
The exterior of the building is decorated in pale grey complementing the soft colour palette used on the inside. The core of the space presents the central feature of the store: a curved, concrete staircase that imposes flow and direction throughout the building.
The walls are treated in Japanned lacquer and the original steel columns have been exposed. The furniture used in the store showcases McQueen’s take on supernature and carved anatomical details, contrasting with hard, clean metal lines.
The store has been created with the idea of incorporating new technologies and making the shopping experience more interactive. The visitors will be greeted by an interactive digital table and billboard featuring brand content and imagery. On the first and lower ground floors, gesture-controlled mirrors will allow customers to browse the collection and photograph themselves in looks that can be shared with friends via social media channels or email.
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September 6, 2012
Fashion