A.R.E Awards – Softline Specialty Store up to 3,000 sq. ft. – Grand Prize

7 For All Mankind Santa Monica Place, Santa Monica Calif.

Taking an existing store into its second generation, designers drew strengths from the first store, such as the use of marble, to create a high-end appeal and incorporated new elements for a fresh, updated look that better represents the brand’s men’s and women’s apparel. Materials of blackened steel, whitewashed birch plywood, raw oak and walnut, cypress timber logs, and burnished bronze mimic the ambience of a Southern California, Mid-century home. Dramatic features abound, including the 10-foot-tall wood plank pivoting entry doors, metal cashwrap with cantilevered wood ceiling, over-scaled mirrors, and custom-made, hand-blown glass “bubble” chandeliers. The flooring is innovative, a self-leveling, engineered polished cement, used throughout the entire space without feeling industrial. 7’s artistic use of visual merchandising—draped over logs, for example—provides beautiful displays without intimidating customers.

Architecture: Epoch Design Group, St. Louis, MO
Design: Freelance Consultant, Los Angeles, CA
Design: Vanity Fair Corporation, Los Angeles, CA
Design: Olf Design, Hudson, NY

The Association for Retail Environments (A.R.E.) is a Hollywood, Fla.-based non-profit trade association representing the retail environments industry. Our 600 member companies include store fixture suppliers, retail design firms, suppliers of visual merchandising products, and suppliers of materials and equipment for the retail environments industry. Member capabilities include importing, exporting, consolidating, installing, project management, engineering, design, and more. A.R.E. Mission: Advance the industry and the success of our member companies.
Las Vegas (March 29, 2011)—The 57 awards presented by the Association for Retail Environments at a ceremony in the Venetian honor the creators of retail theater worldwide.