Fronted by black-painted aluminium panels and double-height display windows, the monochrome, minimal look offsets the opulence of Dolce & Gabbana's clothes.
The style is now being applied to branches in cities as far-flung as London and Osaka. "It's a corporate image with a kit of parts and materials," says project architect Andy Groarke. But this does not mean the stores are identikit franchises. "The facades of all the shops will be different," Groarke says. "We prototyped this facade material in Old Bond Street, London. This store is very tall, so we opted for a lighter type of cladding than stone." Inside, the floor is basalt stone. Low benches step upwards, in turn, into the cash desk and eventually to a grand staircase at the rear. "It took 10 weeks to ship the stone from Italy to California," says Groarke.
The clothes themselves have plenty of space. Teak hanging systems and tables contrast with glass and black-stained oak drawers; walls and floor are cool monochrome. Directional lighting is tucked into a seamless ceiling, and room is left for the trademark gilt chairs and zebra skins, and the grand staircase.
"Dolce & Gabbana was very interested in the ceremony of the staircase," Groarke says. "It's not about forcing as much merchandise into the space as possible." Gruen Associates was associate architect and Hurst & Seiburt was contractor.
