Etnia Barcelona celebrates the launch of its first flagship store located in an emblematic building of seven stories just outside of the Basilica of Santa María del Mar. Remodelled by the architect of the Camper Hotels and Lázaro Rosa Violán Studio, the new store is inspired by the traditional interior design of Barcelona apartments and is home to all the artist-inspired collections of the brand. This new iconic space of the Barcelona eyewear brand occupies a total area of 8600 sq. ft. distributed over seven stories, each of which is designed to fully express the DNA of the brand. Two of these floors are dedicated to sales and showrooms specially reserved for its Optician Customers, press and brand ambassadors.

The top floor boasts a private rooftop terrace with exceptional views over the gargoyles and stained glass windows of the Basilica which inspired the Best Seller “The Cathedral of the Sea”. The Flagship Store is Etnia Barcelona’s first independently owned shop and is a temple to its eyewear, offering a complete brand experience. The new iconic space will present all the collections of the brand: Originals, Vintage, Advance and the capsule collections that Etnia Barcelona has developed with artists from the worlds of art and photography, such as, Nobuyoshi Araki, Yves Klein, Steve McCurry or Jean Michel Basquiat.

Located in the middle of the chic Barcelona Born district, next to the Basilica of Santa María del Mar, the building steals the show with its size, lighting and interior design, all of which express the very character of the City of Barcelona. The Etnia Barcelona Flagship Store is all about the roots of the brand, about the city in which it came of age and the great influence the city has had on the brand. It expresses the modern, disruptive character of the brand through a leading edge avant-garde architectural and stylistic intervention. The remodelling of the building was led by Jordi Tió, a man closely related to the design world of Vinçon and architect of the Barcelona and Berlin Camper Hotels, amongst others.

The work was complex and involved the demolition of several bearing walls to create diaphanous spaces, as well as the lift well, running from top to bottom of the building, with views of the different floors of the store. The façade has been strictly preserved, right down to the colors, to respect the original appearance of the building. The interior design of this iconic space was conceived by the Lázaro Rosa Violán Studio. It’s a unique project requiring special values, which we have had to come to understand, respect and exhibit. The site itself is part of the city’s heritage and is a space of culture, an inspiration to the world. El Born is, and always will be, one of the oldest, most authentic historical districts of the city.

Our Etnia Barcelona Flagship Store seeks to express a mix of ambiences, ranging from rationalist to art deco, with works of art and items recovered from old opticians, conferring the store an oneiric quality, the magic touch of things vintage.
The furnishings and lighting are 1940s style and reference different trades and spaces. From old operating theatre lights to a jeweller’s work bench or theatre dressing table with its light mirror, to create a kind of backstage feeling. The store also stocks art and photography books, echoing the close relationship the brand has with the world of the arts.We sought to capture the most intimate side of Barcelona and make guests feel as if they’ve entered a traditional Barcelona-style home.

The newly-designed space features hydraulic flooring, oak wood fixtures, old wooden lifts, colorful tiles, Catalan vaulting and cast iron industrial columns. In short, Etnia’s Flagship Store cries out, “I am Barcelona and that is what I am all about.” The Etnia Barcelona creative team has played an active role in the work and interior design of this iconic space. The pattern of the hydraulic flooring tiles, used over the entire floor of the store, is a design created by Etnia Barcelona for one of the brand’s points of sale. In the words of David Pellicer, founder and CEO of Etnia Barcelona “We are delighted to open this, our first Flagship store in the world, especially since it is here in Barcelona, our city, the city that has lent its name to our brand.

It takes the scope of our brand one step further since, to do so, what we needed was to gain first-hand experience of the tastes of our clientele”. Etnia Barcelona is an independent brand, first established 17 years ago by David Pellicer, the third generation in a family of eyewear manufacturers, who sought to bring a splash of color to a world up to then immersed in browns and blacks. From the very outset, and right through to today, the brand has grown at a vertiginous speed. It exports 90% of its collections and has offices in Barcelona, Miami, Hong Kong and Vancouver. Inspired by people, culture and travel, Etnia Barcelona designs eyewear for all and has made its brand values, quality, color and culture its leading ambassador, the true key to success.

Design: Lazaro Rosa Violan
Photography: Alvaro Valdecantos