South Korean fashion brand SONGZIO is further raising its profile in Paris. Following the opening of a men’s flagship store in the city’s happening Marais district, its current creative director Jay Songzio has expanded on the premises, adding a space dedicated to the SONGZIO women’s collection. The retail space measures 150 sqm. (1,615 sq.ft.) spread across two floors and sits on the premises of a sizeable Hausmannian building with an ornate limestone façade. The interior design, a collaborative effort of Songzio and Studio AMV, an architecture practice based in Paris, effortlessly pairs a Asian sensibilities with understated modern design, and offers a stark contrast. Mind you, the store comes with a distinctive Neo-Brutalist concrete façade which signals its presence from afar. Inside, the aesthetic extends, captured by monolithic columns with carved-out recesses, alternated by elements in black oak, and lighting tied together with steel bars and black ropes. Complementing the settings of SONGZIO‘s women’s store is a range of robust furniture pieces by Arno Declerq,

The Antwerp-based designer created furnishings inspired by African ritual objects and Brutalist architecture. The designs are crafted from West African Iroko wood and blackened steel, while also a burning technique has been used to create extra texture and depth, adding an intriguing visual layer to each setting. We shouldn’t omit the fact that the design concept is based on Asian-inspired duality whereby opposites coexist—light vs. darkness, symmetry vs. asymmetry, and curves vs. angles, creating not only an ongoing visual tension when navigating the store, but also embodying the dichotomy of old an new. The vault in the basement is a cryptic space that radically converges some of the aforementioned opposites, creating a unique spatial experience for shoppers. Here, not only SONGZIO‘s collections are displayed, but also its most delicate artworks and process of creation. captured by concrete and amplified by mirrored walls and ceiling. The new SONGZIO flagship store carries the full range of women’s apparel, accessories and jewellery pieces. © superfuture