Clothiers have always paid close attention to the spaces where their garments are displayed and sold, and the state of interior design is all the better for it. These days, when the one thing online shopping can’t deliver is a thoughtful and considered IRL experience, the latest generation of brick-and-mortar fashion flagships also boasts some of the most beautiful interiors. Should you find yourself in want of homeware inspiration, you might consider ditching the moodboards and channeling your favorite store directly — as shopping expert and Magasin magnate Laura Reilly has for her new apartment.
“It’s interesting to get a glimpse of design from a fashion standpoint because they’re not trying to sell you the furniture,” Reilly says. “They’re just trying to enhance your experience. So it’s a more holistically considered space.” Here, Reilly highlights a few favorite design objects from recent store visits.
All quotes have been edited and condensed for clarity.
THE KIMONO HANGER from LEMAIRE’s new flagship (Tokyo)
“Lemaire opened in Tokyo [last] year, and the kimono hanger stood out because it’s something that belongs in a home. It can expand and collapse; it’s a folding piece. Having this simple object that allows you to be considerate of your clothes and take them off and place them somewhere like a valet — I thought that was a really tender detail. It’s a nod to how clothes actually interact with our lives versus presenting them as this museum object.”
THE JEAN PROUVÉ DOOR from the fitting room at The Row (Paris)
“What’s cool about seeing these doors at The Row in Paris is that you can tell they’ve really paid attention to the city they’ve touched down in. Prouvé has come to represent an era of French design that you can consume in a more casual way now that his Standard Chair has proliferated downmarket. The doors look super industrial. I remember reading about the store opening, and a journalist jokingly asked the Olsens if they were kitchen doors. The Olsens had to correct him and say, ‘Actually, they’re Jean Prouvé.’”
THE RALPH LAUREN SOFAS IN THE WOMEN’S COLLECTION SALON ON THE SECOND FLOOR at Ralph Lauren (New York)
“I make a pilgrimage to the Ralph Lauren flagship anytime I’m in the neighborhood. I always go up to the Women’s Collection Salon on the second floor just to see the Somerville sofas — huge, inviting, cloud-like. It’s the most comfortable thing money can buy. It’s not overly complicated; it’s just boiled down to its essence and done perfectly.”
THE LUKAS GSCHWANDTNER CHAISE from the showroom at Acne Studios (Paris)
“I went to an Acne runway show that Lukas styled and created soft furniture for; he made this unbelievable chaise with these salvaged tapestry remnants affixed to a canvas cushion. He calls it the ‘Freudian chaise’ in reference to the fainting couch. It combines a precious historical artifact with something very common.”
LEATHER OTTOMAN from the dressing room at Atelier Saman Amel (Stockholm)
“Growing up in London, I had a very beat-up, very whimsical Omersa donkey. I could sit on it and pretend to ride, and my parents could use it to kick their feet up. Seeing the elephant in the dressing room of Saman Amel’s Stockholm store, I felt such a yearning for this beautiful object from my childhood. But it also represents a kind of classic design. We ended up getting one for our place; I found this tenderly tattered elephant and took it to my cobbler to get it stitched up.”
THE VINTAGE ART DECO LAMP from Kallmeyer’s UES shop (New York)
“I was chatting with Daniella Kallmeyer about her second location on the Upper East Side, and she had this sense that a light fixture would bring the whole place together. She found this lamp — circa 1920s, art deco, filigree and parchment silver — at an antique store in Brooklyn Heights. It has a little mystery around it, but it’s really the heart of the space.”
THE FORTUNY LAMP from Cristaseya’s atelier (Paris)
“Cristaseya showed me what shopping can be like as an intimate, curated experience. I fell in love with this lamp the first time I went to their store in Paris a few years ago. When my husband and I moved into our new place, one of the first things we bought was a Fortuny lamp. The light has this yellow tone to it, which can feel very pre-Instagram. That kind of light doesn’t translate to photos very well, but it’s so pleasant to be bathed in. It’s very, very peaceful.”
