A-Cold-Wall*, the British fashion label founded by Samuel Ross, has unveiled a new flagship store in Shanghai, designed by London-based architecture studio Hesselbrand. The practice, whose previous collaborations in the fashion world involve retail design for Alyx, worked with an existing structure, which they stripped back to craft a highly bespoke and intensely ordered environment. The interior was thus transformed into the perfect canvas to display A-Cold-Wall* garments, which are inspired by an interplay of architecture and industrial design.
Inside the new A-Cold-Wall* Shanghai store
The new flagship is located in Zhangyuan, a 141-year-old cultural block in Shanghai. Preserving the building's historical façade, Hesselbrand's founding directors Magnus Casselbrant, Martin Brandsdal, and Jesper Henriksson opted for a unique approach to the industrial ‘look’ the client requested.
An industrial design aesthetic can involve rough-looking, utilitarian spaces, and as a result, it might be perceived as too stark and cold. Drawing on this but balancing it for the project's retail purposes, the practice took a conceptual approach, capturing spatial qualities that tap into a mix of visual references from large galleries, museums and factories. The store now boasts a grand and timeless feel, offering an alternative concept for its genre, while nodding to monumental architecture.
Hesselbrand also stripped back unnecessary decoration and instead focused on the arrangement of stone columns, hidden mirrors and screen walls throughout the interior. These elements are carefully illuminated and act as larger, stand-alone details that allow for an immersive experience that helps define the store's atmosphere.
'We began with inserting precise architectural elements in plan to create clarity and order. Columns give an overarching structure, while illuminated glass screens hint at the internal activity,’ Casselbrant explains. ‘Focused lighting reinforces the architectural rhythm while the more delicate cashier plinth and ottoman seating serve as anchor points for interaction.’
The use of juxtaposing materials of different textural qualities – such as rough, bush-hammered stone, sandblasted glass, brushed aluminium and woven steel mesh – presents a strong visual language that balances the tightrope between natural and industrial. Additionally, the space is easily adaptable to host exhibitions and events for the local community, a flexibility owed to the interior arrangement's precision and its calming rhythm throughout.
Henriksson says: ‘By turning what was an irregular space into a highly ordered environment, we are able to bring the A-Cold Wall* collection to the forefront of the store, allowing their cult following to truly interact with the essence of the brand. The space is open for interpretation and meant to act as a platform for forming meaningful connections within the community.’
