Travertine on full display in sneaker flagship store

Travertine displays that double as DJ podiums and display shelves feature alongside glistening butter-yellow columns in luxury streetwear label Axel Arigato’s Berlin flagship store.

The shop was designed together with longtime collaborator Halleroed and is set in the central Scheunenviertel neighbourhood, across the ground floor of a prefabricated concrete Plattenbau building typical of post-war East Germany.

GALLERY  

“We don’t have a McDonald’s approach where each store looks the same,” explained Axel Arigato’s creative director Max Svärdh. “We treat them as contemporary galleries and focus less on the transactional element, whilst staying true to our blueprint that keeps coming back in new shapes and materials.”

Roman travertine, which features heavily across the brand’s Paris boutique, was used to cover the entire expanse of the floor, as well as forming chunky shelves and the plinths that encircle the interior columns.

Rendered in various shapes, sizes and textures, these sculptural plinths can be used to display different trainers or act as counters and curved seating nooks when Axel Arigato is hosting an event in the store, which can comfortably accommodate up to 250 people.

The raw natural texture of the travertine is contrasted against the lacquered metal, which was used to envelop the pillars and form a series of clothing rails curved around the perimeter of the room.

“The glossy finish lends a highly visual element to our spaces and creates a nice contrast to the very organic materials and softer characters of the stone and the stores generally muted character,” Svärdh explained.

Together with the floor-to-ceiling mirrors flanking a huge LED display, the shiny metal surfaces also help to reflect the illumination that is provided by the rows of strip lights running all the way across the ceiling.

The flagship is Axel Arigato’s second bricks-and-mortar store in Germany, following the opening of its Munich outpost last November.

Images from Axel Arigato via Dezeen

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