Since its inception in 1970, luxury retailer Joyce has not only fostered many of today’s leading luxury brands for Hong Kong’s well-heeled, and along the way, it has also helped establish the city’s reputation as one of Asia’s leading shopping destinations. For many years, the former British crown colony has banked successfully on the abundance of its luxury offerings and its proximity to what has now become the planet’s largest luxury consumer market: China. But as the arrival numbers of affluent Chinese are declining in favour of destinations such as Seoul, Tokyo and even neighbouring Macau, retailers in Hong Kong are stepping up their efforts to increase their relevance to this important demographic from across the border.

For the renewal of its flagship at the glittering new world tower in Central, Joyce has pulled out all the stops, and we’re pretty sure the redesigned premises will lure back quite a few swashbuckling shoppers. The company tapped Paola Navone to create contemporary settings for its merchandise, and the highly acclaimed Milan-based designer has done so by deploying everyday materials in unusual ways. Starting from the lower ground floor up, where the men’s department is situated, the store adopts an eclectic concept that fuses a raw, industrial aesthetic with elements of sheer luxury.

As such, the palette is eclectic, including rough and smooth textures, luxurious and raw finishes, and both vintage furnishings and modern furnishings. The colour blue can be seen throughout the men’s floor, shifting into an alluring sapphire blue in the men’s v.i.p. room. The ground floor, where shoppers enter the premises, is a voluminous space filled with floods of daylight, and which boasts an unconventional set-up. one enters the women’s floor by walking through the window display itself, passing under a curtain of 1960’s inspired soft white tinsel. The quirkiness is evident throughout the store, and has resulted in adventurous settings not commonly paired with luxury goods, most notably the white metal cages affixed to the ceiling from which clothes rails hang.

The terrazzo flooring, sanded and with cement-filled cracks, adds up to meticulously constructed atmosphere. A newly installed stairwell leads up to the so-called chamber floor, a space which has been destined to showcase the collections of the most conceptual men’s and women’s designers at Joyce, and as such it’ll regularly change scenery. It’s also home to the store’s Tailor’s atelier and Joyce cabinet, an exhibition space filled with curated Objets d’Art, curiosities, and vintage curations by creative partners from across the planet.

Design: Paola Navone

http://superfuture.com/supernews/hong-kong-joyce-store-renewal