Keen to serve its avid following with striking signature stores, Aesop‘s global retail network continues to expand. the latest outpost to join in one in São Paulo, and not surprisingly, it’s in the hottest neighbourhood of town. The store is situated on tree-lined Rua Oscar Freire, the city’s most prominent shopping strip, occupying a rectangular 62 sqm. [667 sq.ft.] unit on the ground floor of a residential building. The new venture is a perfect fit as Aesop has long admired Brazilian modernist architecture and the vibrant personalities behind it. For the brand’s inaugural Brazilian store a collab was forged with acclaimed architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha and his collaborator, fellow architect Martin Corullon.

The setting of the new store very much hints Mendes da Rocha’s roots in Brazilian brutalist architecture, featuring robust materials and fixtures, most notably the cast concrete desk which wraps itself around a pillar in the center of the store and a set of matching cylindric displays. The boldness is balanced by frivolous cement tiles traditionally used for domestic flooring and supersleek shelving that lines the wall. Large slabs of mirror reflect the daylight that pours in and visually enlarges the space at the same time. Rumour has it that a second store is already planned for the Vila Madalena area. The new Aesop store carries the brand’s full range of skin, body and hair care products.

via Superfuture