Alexander Wang Flagship Store in Soho, New York

Fashion designer and recently appointed creative director of Balenciaga, Alexander Wang is one of those so-successful-it’s-annoying types. It’s not surprising that the concept for his flagship store is yet another manifestation of his brilliance.

The serial award winner was only twenty seven when he opened his first flagship store in Soho, New York in February 2011. Wang had a heavy hand in the design process, developing the interiors concepts in collaboration with friend and interior designer, Ryan Korban (who is also, annoyingly youthful FYI). They worked with architects from Kramer Design to realise the store’s design. True to form, the interior is immaculately beautiful. Minimalist with a tendency toward monochrome, the interior reflects the aesthetic of his label.

The piece-de-resistance of the Soho interior is a giant black cage which accommodates a series of rotating installations. The cage is a striking piece of sculpture in itself. Lengths of slender black steel form a gridded, secondary enclosure within the store (and we know how Team Yellowtrace loves them thin black lines). The cage sits near the front window but is a space for shoppers to interact with rather than a separate, no-go display space.

Each season, the cage sees a new intervention, changing the energy of the interior each time. The quality of the space shifts from being soft and romantic, wildly energetic, formal and structured, playful, haunting and so on. Each of the rotating installations is thoughtful and inventive, with a clear intention of how it relates to the collection, how it transforms the shopper’s experience of the space and how the objects within the space are understood. It’s a progressive example of how visual merchandising can become an art form.

Let’s keep our eyes out for the next one, shall we?

Text by Ella Leoncio for Yellowtrace.