{"id":309,"date":"2024-05-06T16:57:05","date_gmt":"2024-05-06T16:57:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/atomic-hair.net\/?p=309"},"modified":"2024-05-09T15:23:26","modified_gmt":"2024-05-09T15:23:26","slug":"this-boutique-sits-at-the-corner-of-pop-art-and-neoclassical-architecture-in-marylebone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/atomic-hair.net\/index.php\/2024\/05\/06\/this-boutique-sits-at-the-corner-of-pop-art-and-neoclassical-architecture-in-marylebone\/","title":{"rendered":"This Boutique Sits at the Corner of Pop Art and Neoclassical Architecture in Marylebone"},"content":{"rendered":"

As an avid shopper and someone who\u2019s worked at many\u00a0a\u00a0small\u00a0business, I am fascinated by well-executed and beautifully designed brick-and-mortar\u00a0store concepts<\/a>.\u00a0At a time when the ease of online shopping has taken over our general consumer experience, I\u00a0hold strong as\u00a0an advocate for shopping at actual, physical stores in real life, feeling, touching, and smelling the goods, and taking in the space. Any items purchased represent just a portion of the holistic shopping experience, which is equally composed of the people I\u2019m shopping amongst and interacting with, as well as the thought and consideration that went into the store\u2019s vibe and feel.\u00a0These intangibles make shopping\u00a0not just an economic exchange but\u00a0a moment for human connection and memory-making.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why when I came upon photos of the new RIXO<\/a> location in the Marylebone neighborhood of London, I was instantly captivated and had to learn more about the unique design concept and those behind it. <\/p>\n

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Megan Taylor<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

RIXO is a contemporary clothing boutique specializing in bohemian sundresses and vibrant prints. Their new Marylebone location brings the whimsical energy of their clothing to life, with brightly colored architectural motifs organically illustrated all over its otherwise crisp white walls. The saturated color palette and hand-drawn line quality create a pop-art-like look, infusing the space with a playful take on classical design elements. Illustrator Sam Wood developed this aesthetic\u00a0in partnership\u00a0with the design studio\u00a0C\u00fapla<\/a>, helmed by Gemma McCloskey. I reached out to Wood and McCloskey to learn more about the process behind their design concept and what it was like bringing such a fresh take on retail space to fruition.<\/p>\n

(This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.)<\/em><\/p>\n

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Megan Taylor<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What was the development process like for this distinct store design concept?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sam Wood: The initial process was driven by Gemma. She approached me after seeing some of my work with Claridge\u2019s and other clients in the UK and asked me to devise something bold and colorful that told the story of RIXO in a distinctly new way.<\/p>\n

GM: When I first stumbled across Sam\u2019s Instagram page, his use of color felt\u00a0really\u00a0bright and fresh alongside his beautiful, fluid style. I knew instantly Sam would be perfect for the new Marylebone RIXO; his handwriting lent itself to enveloping the whole space while still allowing it to breathe.<\/p>\n

SW: After I had\u00a0taken a look\u00a0at the other RIXO stores and got a feel for their story, it was a pleasure to bring something of Marylebone to the space and interpret that in my\u00a0own\u00a0line. I spend a lot of time in the area because a local gallery I work with is down the road, so I\u2019m always roaming about looking at the mishmash of architecture from Gothic Revival (which was the basis of the alcoves) to Neoclassical (which was the basis for the floral details). I hope the eventual style reflects the\u00a0multiplicity\u00a0of the area and is a playful reference to how I see things existing alongside each other.<\/p>\n

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Megan Taylor<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What was the rest of the collaboration process like? <\/strong><\/p>\n

GM: We had an initial meeting\u00a0where\u00a0I discussed the concept, design, and materials being used in the space.\u00a0One of the threads from our concept for Marylebone was this nod to classical London architecture; therefore, creating illustrated paneling with a whiff of Jean Cocteau was the foundation of the design. Within this framework, it was\u00a0important\u00a0to give Sam the breathing space to be creative, and it was exciting seeing him embrace the concept and bring his\u00a0own\u00a0stamp to the design.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Once we had reached the final internal designs, we decided we needed to use these on the external windows\u00a0to fully embrace the concept. When Sam was actually onsite doing the mural, it was a very fluid process, and we would discuss colors and tweak a few things with the benefit of actually being in the space. We also added in some of the pendants which sit centrally in the space and look great.<\/p>\n

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Did you\u00a0first\u00a0map out the design digitally and then bring it to life on the store walls? What was it like free-handing the motifs? Nerve-wracking, exhilarating?\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

SW: I am a stickler for being\u00a0analogue\u00a0early on; I work on full-scale drawings on paper, which gives me an idea of how the motifs will work at scale\u00a0as well as\u00a0the tones and quality of line.\u00a0The client\u00a0does not always see\u00a0these, but they are an essential part of how I conceive of a design and have the confidence to execute it.\u00a0After this, I can mark up the digital renders to hone the design so the client can\u00a0get\u00a0a full\u00a0idea of\u00a0the vision.<\/p>\n

A great deal of\u00a0forward\u00a0planning and preparatory drawing goes into\u00a0making sure\u00a0that when I put the pen on the wall, it\u2019s all where it should be.\u00a0That\u2019s an essential collaborative exercise, in this instance,\u00a0with Gemma, who was fantastic to work with.\u00a0Building sites are often chaotic places, which is a far cry from my day-to-day in the studio, so yes, it\u2019s a heart-in-mouth moment every time with the first mark on the wall, but I do get a kick out of it!<\/p>\n

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A post shared by C\u00fapla (@cuplastudio)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Is this markers-on-walls technique a style you\u2019ve done before? Or was it specially created and executed for this particular project?\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

SW: I\u2019ve used Posca markers for years in various contexts, they have such a nice uniformity of tone, which is ideal for bringing to life a design which needs to keep its clarity and \u201cpoppyness.\u201d I used them for the first time in a mural context last year for Bryan O\u2019Sullivan Studio<\/a>, painting a celestial ceiling which is still on show in their gallery on Brook Street Mayfair. <\/p>\n

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A post shared by Bryan O’Sullivan Studio (@bosstudio)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Ordinarily I use a brush and acrylic when doing murals, so it was fun to what is possible with these works in the medium.<\/p>\n

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How did you feel at the end of the process after drawing your last line, stepping back, and seeing the completed store?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

SW: It\u2019s always a moment of thinking, \u201cIs it finished now?\u201d There\u2019s always the possibility of another line, filling out this corner, or changing that line. I habitually look for flaws in\u00a0a work, and the \u201cfinished product\u201d is always an opportunity to see how everything has worked together. It\u2019s a strange feeling to hand the thing over\u2014 after a couple of days of the room being yours, it now belongs to the client and, of course, the public, who interprets it in their\u00a0own\u00a0way. That\u2019s why I love working so spatially\u2014 the works sometimes divide people, but once\u00a0I\u2019m finished, that\u2019s down to the viewers.<\/p>\n

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What sort of experience do you hope shoppers have when stepping into this RIXO store? What sensations do you hope they feel as they move about the space you all created?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

SW: So much of what I do is about storytelling and creating places where people can escape\u00a0in some way.\u00a0Here, the murals are front and center in the design and are a key part of the store\u2019s identity. I hope anyone coming into the space gets a sense of the layers of detail that go into evoking the story that RIXO wants to tell, as well as how my\u00a0own\u00a0journey as an artist marries with that.<\/p>\n

GM: We want the shoppers to feel invited like they\u2019re stepping into someone\u2019s living room at home. We didn\u2019t want a sterile interior, which can sometimes be intimidating for a shopper. There is also a sense of escapism with the store, which we hope the customers find uplifting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As an avid shopper and someone who\u2019s worked at many\u00a0a\u00a0small\u00a0business, I am fascinated by well-executed and beautifully designed brick-and-mortar\u00a0store concepts.\u00a0At a time when the ease … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":311,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-color-design","latest_post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/atomic-hair.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/atomic-hair.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/atomic-hair.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/atomic-hair.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/atomic-hair.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=309"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/atomic-hair.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":310,"href":"http:\/\/atomic-hair.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309\/revisions\/310"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/atomic-hair.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/atomic-hair.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/atomic-hair.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/atomic-hair.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}