Wonderwall Brings Uniqlo Vision to Paris

Situated next to the Opera Garnier, Katayama anchors the design concept--labeled "Beauty Conscious with Ultra Rational Style"--within an 1866 Beaux Art-style theater building.

-- Interior Design, 11/30/2009 12:00:00 AM

Move over H&M, Uniqlo is making a run for the household name in affordable, trend-setting fashion. The Japanese clothing manufacturer just celebrated the opening of its third global flagship store in Paris following the 2007 opening of its London Oxford Street store and the 2006 opening of its New York SoHo store.

Leading the new location’s aesthetic vision, Masamichi Katayama of architecture firm Wonderwall drew upon the contemporary Japanese style of the “organized and systematic” within the original second empire French style architecture for the retail environment.  

Situated next to the Opera Garnier, Katayama anchors the design concept—labeled “Beauty Conscious with Ultra Rational Style”—within an 1866 Beaux Art-style theater building. The center of the space features a large skylight resting above a dramatic staircase fashioned from mirror-finished, stainless steel and glass which connects the three store levels: basement, ground floor and second floor. LED lights line walls with graphics and larger-than-life images of models modeling the brand’s product to help market entire collections.

The store opened its doors to the public in October.

Images courtesy of Uniqlo.