Exclusive First Look at Flack Studio’s New Retail Concept for Ginger & Smart.

We gave you a quick little preview of this beautiful project last week, and today we are back for an exclusive reveal of Flack Studio‘s brand new retail concept for Ginger and Smart which opened last month at Pacific Fair in Gold Coast, Australia. Described by David Flack as “a little bit of polished, a little bit of playful”, the interior captures the essence of Australia’s prominent fashion brand, and heralds an exciting new direction for Ginger and Smart.

On the drawing boards since March this year, this project brings together a whole new brand dialogue and strategy for Ginger and Smart’s retail spaces, setting the tone for a national roll out (the design team is currently working on the Strand Arcade Sydney and Melbourne Emporium).

We had a quick chat to David Flack about this gorgeous project – read on for what he had to say.

See more projects by Flack Studio on Yellowtrace.

+ What’s your favourite thing about this project?

We played on this project. We had the design locked down and approved in our first presentation meeting, however after that moment we played. We had our clients Alexandra and Genevieve Smart in our studio on two more occasions. Collaboration is a word that’s been thrown around a lot, but until this project I never truly understood it’s meaning.

We had trust on this project, a trust from Ginger & Smart that we understood their brand but more importantly we understood the Ginger & Smart Woman. We also had the trust to take the Ginger & Smart brand to the next level. This trust allowed the play and fun we had. I have never met two busier, harder working people, but they would fly down to our studio from Sydney and spend the whole day playing, we would have all the finishes out and they would literally spend the day with us relishing in the design process. They very much respected this process, as a mobile wasn’t seen by either party, we actually barely left the design space. In the first meeting at our studio we only allocated 2hrs for the presentation – they stayed for six. We had so much fun that on the next two visits we cleared the diary for the day.

+ Most challenging aspect?

Selecting the right colour for the change room areas. We wanted a bold use of colour, but we had to select a colour that felt right for the DNA of what Ginger and Smart is about, and something that is effortless across all seasons. This colour we meticulously selected back and forth between us and our client. Working closing with the design team at their Sydney studio and seeing all their fabrics really help decide on this deep green.

+ What did you learn during the project?

Colour works in retail and should be used more. Also the importance of the change room. We spent a lot of time discussing the space of the change room with G&S. They took us through their customer service experience, it was very much about ensuring the G&S Woman was comfortable. Our favourite design element is the change rooms, and the feeling it gives you.

+ Would you have done anything differently?

I always find this question hard, because the moment I walk into a finished space, it’s like seeing a baby. Of course there may be things I would do differently, but with my projects even the errors have their place. With this project we had two cement pillars that still has the builders set-out marks and notes on it, everyone wanted it cleaned. I loved it, it was another element that told the story. So it stayed.

+ Any interesting/ funny/ quirky facts you could share with us about this project?

The actual floor plan changed three times, once after we presented the initial schematic design and on the day the builders began construction it was revealed we had an extra 12sqm!

[Images & drawings courtesy of Flack Studio. Photography © Toby Scott.]