In the 21st century, retail interior design has grown increasingly more complex – long gone are the days when basic rails and shelves were deemed sufficient – and a new boutique in Causeway Bay offers ample proof of this

In today’s hugely competitive consumer market, gaining the shopper’s attention has become as important as a store’s location and the products on sale. Stores regularly revamp their interiors in a bid to keep on top of trends, as well as to appear new and refreshed.

Shine, positioned as one of Hong Kong’s leading high-end multi-brand fashion stores, is known for bringing pioneering foreign brands to the territory’s clientele. Launching recently in Hong Kong’s bustling Causeway Bay area, Kristof Crolla of Laboratory for Explorative Architecture & Design (LEAD) and Nelson Chow of NC Design & Architecture (NCDA) have conceived Shine’s flagship boutique, showcasing how an architectural reinterpretation of contemporary textile patterns and accessories can be seamlessly integrated into fashion retail, creating an intriguing yet highly functional contemporary store.

Located in Fashion Walk, the Shine store optimises its relation to the street through an open façade, visually doubling the space through a fully mirrored back wall. In the main room, pieces from various designers are presented against a monochromatic background into a flexible open shelving system.

The shelves’ design is based on a folding luggage rack and its leather surface with integrated lighting has leather belts strapped around it to reveal the names of the designer brands below. The cashier area in the back of the store conceals the fitting rooms and storage entrance behind a continuously folded black steel wall that resembles long folded dressing partitions and forms the most intimate and private area within the overall shop.

Read the full story in the December 2011 issue of Perspective magazine!

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