Rpa:vision unveils Dunhill's elite flagship store

by Nikki Sandison, Brand Republic 26-Mar-08, 12:00

LONDON - Rpa:vision has created a design for luxury menswear brand Dunhill's new flagship store in London's Mayfair.

The store, called The Home of Alfred Dunhill, occupies 21,000 square feet of Bourdon House, formerly the home of the second Duke of Westminster.

Altogether there will be two floors of retail, totalling 2,500 square feet, to the back of the Georgian property, which also includes a private members club with a restaurant, games room and four hotel suites.

The store, which is due to open in the summer, has been designed to appeal to wealthy businessmen. It will be a first for Europe following the opening of the new home format in Tokyo, and a similar project is planned for Shanghai.

The layout of Bourdon House, having been a residential property, is composed in the main part of a large number of rooms smaller than you would normally find in a retail outlet, so Rpa:vision established a single-minded theme that was carried throughout the building to create continuity.

James Breaks, associate director of Rpa:vision, said: "This ambitious project is a fusing of Georgian style and the masculine Dunhill signature concept which offers the strong customer focus that is becoming increasingly important in luxury retail.

"Throughout, there is a strong vein of authenticity that fits with the heritage of the building and that of the brand itself, using craftsmen and traditional materials and techniques to ensure that the building was restored sympathetically while not compromising its validity as a retail space."

Comments

simon rucker - 26/03/2008

Gosh! it looks like....the interior of a Georgian House with a funny rug on the floor. Or at least that's all I can make out on the thumbnail-size pic. Hey Brand Republic, any chance of some decent size pictures before I'm forced to sue for eyestrain?