A curved bench and sinuous show rails meander via the interconnected areas of this trend retailer in Kiev, Ukraine, which inside designer Katerina Kovalenko conceived as a relaxing sanctuary for consumers.
Kovalenko's Studio 725 developed the shop idea for Associates of Style – a Ukrainian clothes model that needed its first bodily area to enhance its easy and stylish womenswear assortment.
A palette of pure supplies, together with wool carpet and wooden veneer, creates a sanctuary-like area that showcases the model's emphasis on sluggish trend.
“The purchasers needed an inside that mirrored their model's fashion and philosophy, with an emphasis on natural particulars and concord,” Kovalenko informed Dezeen.
“Our intention was to create an area that might not solely spotlight their trend items, but additionally present consolation, heat and a way of refuge for patrons – particularly significant given the context of the continued battle,” she added.
All through the shop, the design group aimed to evoke the stream of materials, utilizing curved shapes and comfortable, textured supplies, reminiscent of the sunshine draperies that line a few of the partitions.
White plastered textiles and surfaces are contrasted with darkish wooden paneling and stainless-steel hanging rails in some rooms.
Present architectural options reminiscent of an arched doorway between two of the areas and home windows in a cupola above the stairwell helped inform a number of interventions – each exterior and inside.
“To take care of the consumer's finances, we stored these options and reinterpreted them via arched mirrors, rounded facades and comfortable, flowing varieties that improve the pure circulation of the area whereas including a recent contact,” added Kovalenko.
For the facade, which faces a essential thoroughfare within the historic middle of Kyiv, the studio commissioned a pair of curved glass storefronts which are positioned on both aspect of the doorway.
Internally, 725 labored with architect Illia Klymenko to develop a number of bespoke items of furnishings, together with an S-shaped couch that gives lounge seating subsequent to the checkout space.
Different items that had been specifically made for the shop embrace a curved stainless-steel coat rack and a checkered rug that covers the ground of the becoming rooms.
In accordance with Kovalenko, the continued battle in Ukraine has made it tough to supply manufactured components from native manufacturers because of the destruction of manufacturing services throughout the nation.
“Many of the furnishings and decor was made by Ukrainian craftsmen, as worldwide orders confronted vital delays at customs and restricted native stock required us to depend on customized manufacturing,” she stated.
Probably the most eye-catching options is the bespoke textile suspension lamp within the stairwell, which is mechanized to open and shut like a flower.
“Its natural design, harking back to a flower opening to the daylight, represents hope and resilience – a metaphor for the assumption that even in Ukraine's darkest instances, the solar will shine once more,” stated Kovalenko.
Associates of Style's slow-fashion ethos knowledgeable most of the materials selections all through the inside, together with an emphasis on recycled and reusable parts.
725 was based in 2019 by Kovalenko, who’s presently primarily based in London and describes herself as a inventive designer and trendsetter centered on elevating consciousness of Ukrainian inside design.
In 2022, Kovalenko wrote an editorial for Dezeen describing how she was compelled to flee Ukraine when Russian forces started to invade. She additionally produced a compendium of six interiors representing up to date Ukrainian design.
Images is by Andriy Bezuglov.