Founded a decade ago by designers Soo-min Kim and Hwi-jae Lee as a menswear brand, Insilence has since gone leaps and bounds, catering to a female clientele as well. The collections resonate well with South Korea‘s young and savvy demographic, and being so successful, Insilence has cleverly opened retail spaces nationwide. One of the latest to open is a shop-in-shop on the premises of Hyundai department store in Seongnam, a satellite city of Seoul. Situated on the fourth floor, the shop-in-shop measures 81 sqm. (872 sq.ft.), and features an interior design by Busan-based design practice Design by 83. As the objective was to create a setting that signals the brand’s identity, inspiration was taken from its name Insilence. Although its literal meaning is ‘silence’ or ‘quietness’, the name brought to mind Jun’ichirō Tanizaki‘s 1933 novel In Praise of Shadows.

When translating the title into Korean, it means ‘Regarding Shadows’ which somehow aligns well with the brand’s meaning. This resulted in creating a lighting plan, which makes use of the walls, ceiling and furnishings, to convey the brand’s identity by creating depth and density through intentional shadows. The concept has been captured by a monochromatic palette of stainless steel, large tiles and special paints in metallic, black, silver, and grey. The latter material makes the store interior appear to be divided into two sections. This duality was created because the brand’s past style emphasised monochromatic palettes and a hip sensibility, while its current creative direction is distinctly on-trend and more casual. Each fixture has been meticulously designed to align with the chosen concept. The new Insilence shop-in-shop carries a selection of the brand’s men’s and women’s apparel pieces.