MAX&Co., the world famous Italian fashion brand, with an innovative approach to fashion and retail, is inaugurating its new boutique in Sliema in May 2013. This follows the recent new flagship store opening in Milan, Madrid, Barcelona, Singapore and Beirut - presenting its new store concept.
This new store concept is a radically rethought of space, based on a different approach to design in order to foster a whole new shopping experience.
The product of a collaboration among young talents from various areas of expertise. A think tank drawing upon individual creativity and productive fusion of experiences. A felicitous mix of different energies, skills and sensitivities.
Huge unframed windows with no backdrops, permeable membranes fostering osmosis, continuity, an ongoing dialogue between inside and outside. Rendering the transition between the inner and outer dimensions spontaneous and natural, as both highlight the uniqueness of the location.
A transparent skin blurring the distinction between in & out, an invisible perimeter featuring glass floor tiles, an artisan material evoking habitational applications.
The boutique is a realm of “fine dressing”, with 90 sq meters spread over two levels, inspired by the wardrobe concept, the gracious walk-in closet. A space in which to feel pampered, to carefully construct one’s own look in an atmosphere that is relaxed, both in terms of pace and mood. Where selecting, trying items on and styling are elevated to pleasant experiences to be savored and shared. A large area, masterfully divided into more private areas in which to move about at ease, like the rooms in a familiar apartment, allowing shoppers to feel at home.
MAX&Co. - Airways House, High Street - Sliema. Tel. 21316360
THE NEW STORE CONCEPT
Radically rethinking spaces. Beginning with a whole different approach to design, featuring new aesthetic languages. For a fresh new shopping experience.
No star architects, but a think tank boasting just young talents. Bringing together the experiences, sensitivities and creativity of experts in different fields - fashion, architecture and interior design as well as art, music, journalism and even banking. Informal meetings, brainstorming sessions with variable compositions encouraging freewheeling conversations. Heterogeneous intuitions and reflections, sparked in an extemporaneous way, then grouped into thematic clouds and arranged into constellations. This is how the new MAX&Co. store concept came into being.
The goal of the project. Create a “shopper-friendly” environment, a welcoming & cozy ambience, brimming with sensorial and emotional stimuli. Eliminating that sense of displacement generated by impersonal and cold spaces, infinitely reproducible by cloning in any context, concealing reality beneath an artificial veneer of perfection. Recovering and showcasing the authenticity, uniqueness and specialness of what was there before. Restoring the original spirit to spaces, allowing them to tell their stories and that of the brand, while bringing to life clothes and accessories.
Giving tangible form to ideas. A productive fusion of in-house and outside skills - Andrea Tognon for the architectural details and volumes, Studio Pepe for styling and coming up with materials, Ciszak Dalmas for furnishings and lighting – in a felicitous synthesis of individual creative experiences. Featuring a systematic reliance on the know-how of highly competent, passionate craftsmen.
The materials. Authentic, warm, handmade, simple, unfinished and natural. Terracotta and majolica tiles, wood, glass and metal. Materials evoking tradition, especially Italian tradition, with their own histories marked by the imprint of time, augmenting their allure, imbuing them with an affective component. Materials which continue to live, overcoming the curse of obsolescence with the blessing of aging gracefully.
The colors. A palette inspired by make-up tones. Subdued hues that convey well-being and serenity. Barely whispered shades, featured on a variety of different surfaces, finishes and textures, with contrasting acid touches.
The lighting. A mixed system – both spot and directional – showcasing the displayed products, while at the same time creating a relaxed mood.
The display units. Made by hand according to exclusive designs, they combine performance with delicate, ethereal and poetic forms. Oscillating between the purity of abstraction and the reassuring familiarity of domestic furnishings. Versatile elements which make it possible to create an infinite variety of displays. Little sets for showing off the products, setting all the elements that compose a look into a lively dialogue, conjuring up an entire world.