Balenciaga is landing in Charlotte, N.C.
On Oct. 18, the luxury brand will open its first store in the state at the SouthPark Mall.
The 3,961-square-foot store will sell the brand’s men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, shoes, bags, accessories, eyewear and jewelry along with items specific to that market. The space is broken down into rooms, each of which is dedicated to a specific product category.
Like its latest units in New York’s SoHo and Chicago, the Charlotte store’s design will sport the Raw Architecture concept.
The experiential design concept is intended to be reminiscent of construction sites and abandoned spaces. It is built using existing elements, resulting in fewer raw materials, a move that keeps with Balenciaga’s commitment to sustainability.
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Cedric Charbit, chief executive officer of Balenciaga, has said that while each store is unique, the Raw Architecture concept “creates a space to experience modern luxury retail in a conceptual, art-installation-like atmosphere. We design stores to be immersive, focusing on clients and emotions first.”
The exterior of the Charlotte store features two simple signs lit in white and a high-definition video screen showing campaigns on matte steel siding. At the entrance, an existing rounded concrete column was retained and is visible through the store window. Inside, the walls are covered with patinated concrete panels, raw cement boards, hot rolled steel sheets, and smoked glass panes. Brushed concrete floors are intended to resemble sidewalk tiles. Ceiling grids, industrial lighting systems, and other technical fixtures are visible overhead. Fixtures and tables in raw metals are treated to offer a bare, industrial quality. There are also backlit mirrors, a skylight and carpeting to add warmth.
In September, Balenciaga opened a new flagship on Greene Street in New York that replaced an older unit on Mercer Street, and in May, it opened its first store in Chicago on Oak Street.
