Continuing its retail expansion in China‘s first-tier cities, Yohji Yamamoto has just inaugurated a new standalone boutique in Nanjing. The Tokyo-based fashion house has secured a unit on the ground floor of Jinling Central, or JLC in local shopping colloquial, a newly opened multi-storey luxury shopping centre in the city’s Xinjiekou business district. For the interior design, Yohji Yamamoto has once again tapped OSO, an architecture practice based in the Japanese capital. The design is inspired by Nanjing‘s historic architecture, and particularly, the city’s ancient stone and brick walls dating back to the Ming dynasty. Partially repaired over the decades, they’ve developed a strong horizontal grain, and this layering effect echoes the traditional tiled roofs seen on the surrounding gates. Similar to the bricks, the tiled roofs are made from grey clay mixed with sand.

These elements create a unique striation pattern that’s reminiscent of geological layers. For the store setting, all of the aforementioned has been translated into hand-galvanised corrugated steel sheets. The sheets have been placed in a playful and seemingly gravity-defying configuration, which not only demarcates the store perimeter, but also meanders across the premises, creating visually interesting nooks and perspectives. Allowing the quirky configuration to take centre stage, furnishings are few and simple, comprising of panel-mounted glass shelving and clothing racks, and semi-attached display counters. The new Yohji Yamamoto boutique carries a curated selection of women’s and men’s items from the lines Yohji Yamamoto, Yohji Yamamoto POUR HOMME, and discord Yohji Yamamoto. © superfuture