Our longstanding love affair with the Aussie skincare label, goes far beyond its conscious formulations and pretty packaging. The individualized, design savvy approach that the company takes towards each of its boutiques is enough to push any cynic clean over the edge.
Over the last 28 years, Aesop has carefully assembled an array of un-missable stores by working with a range of emerging architects to create separate identities for each outpost. The fruits of its creative efforts have now been immortalized as a microsite called , an online archive of stores that showcases the creative processes, materials and features of each location – perfect for those who can’t visit all in person.
Each boutique is presented with a vivid description, along with sumptuous images of the materials used in the space and its trademark features. From the white oak-lined in Boston to the pink walled , located in an old Victorian manor house, each space is a distinctive treasure to behold.
The site also features a series of film interviews with partner architects and designers, such as , who created a reverent, church-like space for the Prinsengate boutique in Oslo, and and who designed a modernist interior for the Sao Paolo store. Easily organized by locale, materials or signature features, the site is a seductive visual glossary that spins the conventions of retail architecture and design on its head.
The white oak-lined Newbury Street shop in Boston, designed by William O’ Brien Jr
The Cigue-designed Le Marais boutique as seen from the outside....
... and with its sculptural white plaster counter on the inside
March Studio’s pink walled North Melbourne store pays homage to its placement within an old Victorian manor house
Aesop’s minimalist Kyoto boutique, designed by Simplicity
Historic features that were discovered during construction informed the vaulted design that Snohetta created for Aesop’s Prinsensgate shop in Oslo
Portland posseses this industrial-tinged space, designed by John Randolph
Sao Paolo’s modernist boutique, designed by Paolo Mendes da Rocha and Metro Arquitetos
INFORMATION
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What is the role of fragrance in contemporary culture, asks a new exhibition at 10 Corso ComoMilan concept store 10 Corso Como has partnered with London creative agency System Preferences to launch Olfactory Projections 01
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Jack White's Third Man Records opens a Paris pop-upJack White's immaculately-branded record store will set up shop in the 9th arrondissement this weekend
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Designer Marta de la Rica’s elegant Madrid studio is full of perfectly-pitched contradictionsThe studio, or ‘the laboratory’ as de la Rica and her team call it, plays with colour, texture and scale in eminently rewarding ways
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Snøhetta designs Christmas stars for the Norwegian Cancer SocietyFor the tenth anniversary of the Norwegian Cancer Society’s Christmas campaign, Snøhetta launches two paper decorations and a brass candle holder
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Heaven’s gate: ‘The Portal’, by Snøhetta, Erik Jørgensen Møbelfabrik and Everything Elevated -
Global roaming: the secret behind Aesop's international success
