Chloe at the prestigious Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong will be the most dramatic Chloe flagship store in Asia. It embodies the spirit of Chloe. The brand has attitude. Chloe’s image is pretty but also spirited and unpredictable and our aim was to show the contradictions inherent in the Chloe character and to give the shop an edginess which is missing in many luxury designer shops.

We made the space as airy and expansive as possible, and laid out the furniture in a casual way. There are no formal separations, light diffusing glass screens and rails of clothes loosely divide the spaces to create fluid “rooms” through which the customers can wander. Only mirrors lean against the walls.

A special architectural element was designed for this store: a spiral staircase in raw cast concrete, with a refined curved glass balustrade. It reinforces the edgy but elegant style of Chloe.

The lighting here, as in all the stores, is typical of a museum or art gallery: spotlights modelling or flooding the clothes just as you would light a sculpture or painting. At night only the mannequins are illuminated for dramatic effect.

An art film has been commissioned from British artist Barnaby Hoskins which will be shown in the shop window. A film noir with the feel of a black and white detective story it shows a girl breaking into a Chloe shop and trying on the clothes.

Architecture:
Sophie Hicks, SH Architects
www.sophiehicks.com

with Lui Design - www.luidesign.com

Staircase engineering:
FJ Samuely & Partners
www.samuely.co.uk

Lighting:
Arup Lighting
www.arup.com

Art:
Video Installation: Barnaby Hoskins
www.maxwigramgallery.com