Paris Fashion Week starts today, so I’m republishing here a piece I did for another publication about the historical Paris-based malletier Moynat returning with a new shop and a new graphic look to the French capital.
Founded in Paris in 1849 by trunk-makers Octavie and François Coulembier and by travel goods specialist Pauline Moynat, historical French trunk maker Moynat was recently bought and relaunched by luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault.
The brand, with previous Hermès senior designer Ramesh Nair as creative director, opened a new boutique in Paris’s rue Saint-Honoré, just a few streets away from its original store on Avenue de l'Opera.
The store, characterised by a well-balanced sense of calmness, was designed by Gwenaël Nicolas of Japan-based studio Curiosity, renowned for his architectural projects for stores and for his product designs, including fragrance packaging for famous fashion houses.
Original trunks in different colours and shapes have a privileged position in the new Moynat boutique, being displayed in a glass column at the centre of the shop that also symbolises with its circular space the theme of travelling; light enters from the glass ceiling inspired by Art Deco shapes and forms, reflecting on the titanium-coated glass mosaic on the floor, while the mezzanine offers a more intimate environment with a salon and a gallery featuring historical Moynat trunks.
Nicolas also created the graphics for the store shopping bag in a warm brown shade called "Havane" considered as Moynat's trademark colour, and for a limited edition book introducing the history of Moynat and available in an Urushi box shaped like the original curved trunk designed by the iconic malletier.
When you were commissioned to direct the graphic and architectural design of Moynat, what did you know about this historical trunk maker?
Gwenaël Nicolas: It was the first time I heard about the brand, so I was surprised to discover it was established before Louis Vuitton and in fact it was the third most important trunk maker of that period. Not having preconceived ideas about the brand, I was able to discover and look at it with a totally fresh eye.
Were you inspired by any of the Moynat products - by a specific trunk, for example - while designing the shop?
Gwenaël Nicolas: The boutique is designed to be an “écrin” to present the products. To design a boutique you have to place yourself outside the brand and create a process of discovery, wondering what is the first impression you want to express, how you can create a new identity for Moynat that will be relevant to today’s consumers and how a luxury brand can establish itself in today’s world. Looking at the original trunk I realised it was very simple and modern, especially for what regarded the choice of materials, the colour palette and the uniqueness of the shapes that looked quite peculiar to me until I realised the trunks were specifically designed for individual clients with specific needs.
What fascinated you the most about this project?
Gwenaël Nicolas: It was a very rare project since I had to create everything from the physical space to the graphics for the book. My work is usually very modern and conceptual so it was a real challenge to start with something that already existed, dig into the huge amount of information and extract the essential. It was very important to perceive it as a modern brand rooted in the past, as reference emerges from time to time especially through the display of the products more than in the boutique itself. This project was not developed around a brief but totally as an open book and my task was writing the next chapter.
While researching for this project, what did you learn about the work of this historical malletier?
Gwenaël Nicolas: I discovered that most trunk makers were doing a lot of pieces on order, so if you had something very precious to carry you used to visit a malletier. Each piece was unique and would fit perfectly to the function: if you had a Bugatti they would create a curved trunk that would perfectly fit in the car for example.
There seems to be some Art Deco moods in the circular space around the columns, did you take inspiration from the architecture/design that was fashionable in the heydays of this brand?
Gwenaël Nicolas: Paris is very much influenced by the Art Deco period and this is a boutique in Paris. I wanted to make the most beautiful façade in rue Saint-Honoré, very impactful but also very respectful of the place. Moynat’s “havane” colour, the delicate lighting at night and the bronze metal frame give the boutique a strong and graphic look, yet the store perfectly fits in with the environment surrounding it, so it’s designed to last.
Photographs by Jimmy Cohrssen (Interior) and Masayuki Hayashi (Graphics)
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The layout is really nice. It reminds me of a mall I visited in Honolulu.
Posted by: TJ | February 29, 2012 at 11:30 AM