A half-finished brick wall, strands of black wires spilling down from the ceiling to the floor, and a horizontal tree trunk are among a myriad of industrial elements that you’ll notice when you set foot inside Gentle Monster’s Shanghai flagship store. Setting itself apart from conventional eyewear stores, each of the Korean designer brand’s showrooms around the world has its own theme: a ‘train station’ in Hong Kong, a ‘secret apartment’ in Beijing and an ‘aquarium’ made with blue mirrors in New York, plus others in its home country.
With ‘The Artisan’ as its main design concept, the first floor of the two story Gentle Monster shop on Huaihai Zhong Lu sees various installations made with wood and steel taking center stage. These intriguing components make you feel like you’re walking through an art exhibition or an industrial workshop instead of a store that sells eyewear.
Upstairs, Gentle Monster’s core offerings are more prominently displayed in separate compartments, each with different color schemes and its own quirky industrial element. Browsing through the shelves with a symphony of sounds humming in the background, you’ll find hipstery and elaborate frames with names like ‘Black Sheep,’ ‘Blue Moon,’ ‘Jumping Jack’ and ‘Love Punch’ – all priced between RMB1,200 to around RMB3,000. Even if you aren’t in the market for a cool pair of shades, the semi-psychedelic experience of the shop alone is worth a visit.
See listing for Gentle Monster.
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