VGN | KIND OF BLUE
The project consists in the restyling of an historical leather and shoe care shop in Milan. On the occasion of its 80th anniversary the retailers wanted to widen their products offer with a selection of the renowned English shoemakers Barker. The shopkeepers, who founded the shop in 1938, wished to renovate the existing display area and to create a new exclusive corner and try-on area for the new products.
The project consists in the restyling of an historical leather and shoe care shop in Milan. On the occasion of its 80th anniversary the retailers wanted to widen their products offer with a selection of the renowned English shoemakers Barker. The shopkeepers, who founded the shop in 1938, wished to renovate the existing display area and to create a new exclusive corner and try-on area for the new products.
Aim of the project is to create a traditional atmosphere, in line with the philosophy of Barker, but also an environment which witnesses the identity of the shop and its history.
The custom furniture is characterised by a design and a selection of materials inspired by the elegance and the handcrafted quality of an historical shop: wood, brass, textiles.
The shop has two long wall units made out of a specific kind of oak characterised with a natural copper nuance given by a virus. On the client side the bottom part has a row of sliding glazed shutters; the central part, close to the entrance, has shelves with mirrored back and integrated lightings displaying shoe polish jars, brushes and other shoe care accessories; in the second half of the wall unit, a recess with a grey leather sofa and a brass bordered mirror sets up the try on area; on the back the shelves are intended for other products: the footwears are displayed in the central shelf with rounded corner on the back and covered by a blue satin.
A brass rail, working as a fixing for the ladder, separates the display area from the upper part of the wall units, used as storage.
On the back of the shop, at the centre, the Barker corner represents the focus of the whole composition and it is perspectively aligned to the entrance. The corner is characterised by rounded edges and by a display area with blue satin Amoir Libre by Dedar and brass bordered. The shelves are covered with a bright wallpaper by Armani Casa to enhance the quality of the displayed shoes. On both sides, two high curtains frame the corner and separate the shop from the offices and the storage in the back.
The centre is characterised by two rounded counters with white marble countertop and suspending lights. The counters projection nicely draw on the ceiling two blue recesses with integrated lightings.
The renovation project involved also the windows and the shop sign: the latter was made out of back painted glass and gold leaves. The logo had been redesigned with a new graphic and with a new font which would like to evoke the history of the shop.
