As China‘s middle class continues to go leaps and bounds – mind you, a recent report by the Boston Consulting Group predicted to reach 40% of the country’s vast population – so do the number of homegrown brands catering to this demographic. The ubras brand was founded in Beijing in 2016, offering women’s underwear with a comfortable and wireless product range to a savvy urban clientele both in China and abroad through its online shop. The brand operates a network of more than 40 standalone shops in the country’s biggest cities, including Shanghai, but sees room for further growth in this sprawling city. ubras‘ newest outpost, already its seventh, has opened in the heart of the city, and the design by local architecture practice Sò Studio, very much reflects ubras‘s brand values.

The store occupies a 280 sqm. (3,014 sq.ft.) ground floor unit alongside Huaihai Zhong Lu, an important shopping artery in the city’s Jing’an area that’s lined with premium brand stores. Clean and understated, just like the shop’s interior, the recessed façade creates a welcoming entrance. A simple, curved, luminous wall softens the commercial atmosphere and introduces a comfy and caring space for the visitors. Brand symbols are also gradually revealed in the entrance, with a U-shaped light film on the top and a U-shaped handle on the sliding door. By installing three fitting rooms on one side, a meandering configuration has emerged which is dotted with different volumes which predominantly serve as seating and displays. The garments are mostly presented on sleek clothing racks set within recessed nooks in the wall.

Existing columns were treated with soft finishes to blend into the somewhat esoteric setting. Interestingly, micro-cement materials and rubber-textured elastic paint appear throughout the premises and tie in the ubras‘ brand creed ‘so simple, so free’. A special section has been dedicated to the brand’s likeuu line which targets young women, and is flanked by an L-shaped sales counter. All the display walls are made of soft materials, combined with the arc-shaped light band around, which lifts up the soft and delicate feeling towards one’s journey in the store. The lighting system adopts several modes during the day and night with the principal of simulating the brightness from the source of the surrounding environment. The new ubras store stocks the brand’s full range of women’s underwear and apparel collections.