OMA and AMO (the Office for Metropolitan Architecture and its research and design studio) are collaborating with Stone Island to design a new identity for the Italian luxury brand’s stores. The new store concept envisions altar-like spaces, with niches for archival pieces and prototypes, “concrete slabs” of pressed shredded paper and resins, burnt, sandblasted and coated cork (the central material of Stone Island stores), sandblasted corrugated steel plates, chandeliers and more. Outside of store hours, the retail spaces will host public presentations, salons, workshops and private events. The stores will provide a base for existing and new customers and complement the brand’s online presence. Stone Island’s approach to transforming typical materials into unique ones inspired the work of OMA / AMO in the process.
The new concept premiered in a new 180-square-meter retail space for Stone Island in Chicago – the brand’s first in the city – which opened on Oct. 20, before additional locations in Seoul, Munich and Stockholm will follow.
