Luxury eyewear label Gentle Monster has unveiled the design of its first Haus concept store outside South Korea in Shanghai, the world’s largest Gentle Monster store.
The launch of the Shanghai store follows the opening of Haus Dosan in Seoul earlier this year, opening chapter two of the Haus project. Featuring a ‘Future Retail’ theme, the four-story Haus Shanghai houses fragrance brand Tamburins’ first physical store in China and dessert brand Nudake.
“Haus Shanghai provides more than a commercial experience,” Gentle Monster said in a statement. “By inciting emotional provocation in visitors, Haus aims to deliver an unprecedented cultural experience.”
Gentle Monster combines retail experiences, pop-ups, and art exhibitions inside the 3270sqm retail space. Haus Shanghai’s first floor houses the Nudake store, where visitors can find a variety of artistic desserts. Gentle Monster’s signature six-legged walking robot, The Probe, is located at the centre of the floor alongside kinetic horses, “capturing Nudake’s spirit of experimentation and fantasy”. Visitors can also find various forms of collaged media art and aesthetic furniture here.
The second floor, Gentle Monster’s largest retail space, is designed under the theme ‘Circulation’ with pliant art pieces cutting through the centre, forcing an unexpected flow of traffic inside the space.
Meanwhile, the third floor presents a large exhibition space designed for media art exhibitions and collaboration pop-ups. At the heart of the space, a robotic face called ‘The Giant’ is located alongside sculptures and installations, depicting the theme ‘The Giant Who Arrived at the Bird Village’.
China’s first Tamburins flagship store is situated on Haus Shanghai’s top floor, “expressing elegance and individuality through the delicate balance of spatial elements”. The space is highlighted by a wall art installation ‘Twig’ covered in tree branches, illustrating “the intersection of luxury and rawness through the combination of contrasting materials”.