Following the redevelopment of Rhythm House and the opening of Kunal Rawal's boutique, we were commissioned to design a retail space adjacent to his on Level One. Called Beige, the multi-brand store focuses on casual womenswear primarily sourced from Portugal, the owner's home country. Now settled in Mumbai, she wanted to offer customers a wide choice and mid-range pricing, as opposed to an intimidating shopping experience; her brief was to create a salon-like feel, where clientele can both shop and spend an afternoon with her over a cup of tea.
As the name suggests, our material palette also featured shades of beige, using wood, fabric and textured paint. At a modest thousand square feet, we opted for an open plan, the 20-foot ceiling height and pitched roof adding to the free-flowing space; the changing room and back-of-house were pushed to the rear of the store. A 30-foot-long wall was clad with pleated beige silk fabric as a wall finish, softening and adding warmth to the interior. Another wall featured textured polish in a darker hue of beige, and the rest of the walls and ceiling were all clad in wood. We also recreated the wooden flooring to retain the original historic look of the building.
Custom brass display racks allowed for each collection to be showcased individually, and a diagonal display platform crafted from beige travertine stone is the central focus of the store. A line of mannequins is placed on it to mimic the runway and an overall tropical touch is added to the space by tall plants.
