Interior design studio Cúpla has completed a boutique for fashion brand Rixo in central London that features hand-painted illustrations and colourful zellige tiles.
The clothing store on Marylebone High Street was revamped by Cúpla, whose creative director Gemma McCloskey is the twin sister of Rixo co-founder Orlagh McCloskey.
The interior designer had previously designed the brand’s flagship store on the King’s Road and wanted the refurbished Marylebone location to have a similar feel.
“We wanted the store to embody everything we had previously created for Rixo’s flagship store but within its own right,” Gemma McCloskey told Dezeen.
“A sense of escapism paired with a welcoming warmth within a boutique setting were the key emotions we wanted the customer to feel.”
As the brand sells hand-painted prints, the designer wanted the store’s interior to feature illustrations to reflect the style of the clothes.
“Understanding Rixo’s roots and the fact their USP is hand-painted prints, it felt tangible to represent the brand’s values and beginnings with the illustrations,” Gemma McCloskey said.
“Given the space is quite small, we treated it almost like a living room space within a home and felt we could make it all-encompassing and personal.”
Artist Sam Wood hand-painted murals and illustrations throughout the store, which has a bright and playful colour palette and also features traditional glazed Moroccan zellige tiles.
“We wanted the colour palette to feel really fresh and bright,” the designer explained.
“Although there is an abundance of colours used, every line of the mural or the ‘random’ coloured zellige tile layout was methodically composed to ensure a right balance between the colours was struck.”
The studio added decorative arches and classical mouldings to the store in a nod to the architecture and heritage of its Marylebone neighbourhood.
The store also features bespoke fitting room curtains with pickle-green and flora-pink stripes by fabric brand Colours of Arley.
Cúpla used vintage furniture pieces throughout the store, which sells Rixo’s full collection including ready-to-wear and bridalwear.
“We actually modified existing pieces of vintage furniture, which had been previously sourced by [Rixo founders] Orlagh and Henrietta years ago in the early days of Rixo,” Gemma McCloskey said.
“They were the perfect fit for the space but didn’t have the functionality we required, so we decided to alter these instead or replace them.”
“It was much more sustainable and because the pieces were from the early years of Rixo, they had sentimental value so we didn’t want to replace them,” she added.
Other recent London stores featured on Dezeen include a Camper store with a giant foot sculpture and a stationery store with a demountable interior.
The photography is courtesy of Rixo.
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