Diesel recently unveiled its new 2,800 square feet concept store at 625 Madison Avenue, designed in collaboration with Japanese architect firm Wonderwall, headed by Masamichi Katayama. The Tokyo-based team, in partnership with Diesel Artistic Director Nicola Formichetti, envisioned a simple yet unexpected concept; the idea of an apartment space, a symbolic new house for the brand.
Customers travel through the store's different areas reminiscent of a foyer (hosting the Diesel Black Gold line), a living room (displaying the complete Diesel offer) and at the back of the store, a space inspired by a wine cellar. This is where denim, Diesel's core product, finds its ideal representation in a beautiful stainless steel and glass installation highlighting the quality and mastery of the brand in this category.
The three dimensional pattern of the store's façade is also a tribute to denim, which was inspired by the back "V" stitch of the brand's iconic 5-pocket. Not only does the cement mortar façade capture light to accelerate the surrounding air's natural oxidation, it also helps decompose polluting elements in the atmosphere (a process called photocatalysis).
Additional design features include steel fixtures paired with Persian rugs, concrete flooring with wooden ceilings, antique furniture with technologically advanced materials, and high-definition screens displaying custom digital artworks from renowned art collective, Field.
The perfect expression of the brand's alternative to luxury positioning, this store is a cornerstone of Diesel's new retail strategy deployment which will see several locations around the world opened, relocated or refitted with the new design concept in the next three years.
"I'm enthusiastic about the future-forward change the brand is spearheading in retail," commented Renzo Rosso, Founder of Diesel. "My only advice to the brand's fans is: go visit the Madison store and live the brand's new shopping experience."