Aquazzura's new Moscow store make-over by Studio Casa Do Passadico

A room in white, black, and red tones. Two walls are covered in mirrors, and on the wall to the right, there is a black & white sitting area. On the table in the center shoes are displayed.

Luxury shoe label Aquazurra has opened a new outpost in Moscow, designed by Casa Do Passadiço

(Image credit: press)

last updated 9 October 2022

Located in a 1,097 sq ft space on Moscow’s Petrovka Street, a strip famous for its theatres, Aquazzura’s new Russian outpost is certainly full of drama. Behind the building’s original exterior, created in 1874–76 by Russian architect Boris Freidenberg, the Florentine footwear brand’s signature black and white stripes are let loose. A defining feature of all five of its existing global stores, the stripes are a nod to the black and white pillars found in the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, the brand’s birth city.

In Moscow, they have been given a Russian makeover. Joined by scarlet hexagonal tiles that adorn the store’s arched ceiling and back wall, the bold stripes form archways and extend across the floor, transforming into a mesmerising woven pattern inspired by the intricate inlaid marble floors found in Saint Petersburg’s State Hermitage Museum.

The bold new design is the work of sisters Cláudia and Catarina Soares Pereira of Casa Do Passadiço, who already have multiple Aquazzura interiors under their belts, including the luxury label’s Florence, London, Miami and Las Vegas stores, as well as its New York and Milan showrooms.

The bold black & white stripes form an archway, through which we see shelves that have shoes on them. — *Black and white striped furnishings feature in all five of Aquazurra’s existing global stores*

‘Our main concern was to translate the amazing architecture of the city and to bring its mood into the shop,’ say the Portuguese duo, who have completed over 200 projects during their 20 years in business. ‘We fell in love with the Russian architecture and wanted to reproduce this feeling in the details.’

A palette of rare marbles, golden brass, velvet, linen, handwoven carpet, glossy lacquers and decorative plasters for the ceilings and walls. An important opening for the six-year-old brand, which is already enormously popular in Russia, the Moscow store forms part of a wider expansion plan spearheaded by founder and creative director Edgardo Osorio, who hopes to turn Aquazzura into a global accessories brand with stores in every major city worldwide within the next ten years.

The image to the left shows a glass entry, and a black & white marble floor, with a shelf with shoes on it, to the far wall. The image to the right shows a bold black & white striped archway, with a black & white striped marble floor. Through the archway, we see a shelf with shoes on it. — The store features black and white striped furnishings inspired by Basilica of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, the birthplace of the brand

To the left, a gold metal shelf has a lot of shoes displayed. In the center is a huge window, with shoes displayed on a circular metal shelf. The room is decorated in black & white striped tiles and white walls with black stripes. — Hexagonal tiles feature in the new space, taking inspiration from the marble floors in Saint Petersburg’s State Hermitage Museum

The image to the left shows a black & white desk with flowers on it, marble tiles also in black and white. The wall is painted red. The image to the right shows Black & white walls, with a huge mirror and red ceiling. We see a shelf with shoes on it in the mirror reflection. — Hand woven carpet, velvet and bright lacquers also feature within the space, the original interior created by the Russian architect Boris Freidenberg between 1874-76

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Aquazzura website

ADDRESS

Aquazzura
18 Petrovka Street
Moscow 127051

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Ali Morris is a UK-based editor, writer and creative consultant specialising in design, interiors and architecture. In her 16 years as a design writer, Ali has travelled the world, crafting articles about creative projects, products, places and people for titles such as Dezeen, Wallpaper* and Kinfolk.

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