For its first international flagship rollout, outerwear apparel brand Mackage debuted a new concept in its headquarters city, Montréal. The retailer originally launched in 1999 and operates a second flagship in New York’s SoHo neighborhood, designing outerwear collections catering to men, women and, more recently, children.
Design firm Burdifilek (Toronto) was charged with creating a dramatic ambience for the 2000-square-foot space located in Montréal’s largest enclosed shopping center, Carrefour Laval. Diego Burdi, creative director, Burdifilek, said the biggest challenge was the store’s footprint: “Our design needed to create the illusion of a grand space with compartmentalization, without feeling constricted.”
Designers began by creating a series of vignettes throughout the store at differing heights, offering visual interest, while creating a “cocoon effect” for customers stepping inside each area.
Featuring visual representations of winter and nature, the space is divided into four zones, including dedicated areas for accessories, men’s coats, women’s coats and the checkout counter. Merchandise is framed by wall-to-wall, expansive backlit images of Canada’s snow-covered Rocky Mountains, and coats are hung by segmented hangers on a custom notched rail, allowing customers to view product silhouettes and easily browse collections.
Each zone is further defined by sculptural marble displays (including the eye-catching cashwrap), meant to resemble icebergs, as well as black fixtures with thin marble shelves. There’s also a marble catwalk inlayed into the cerused oak smoked flooring. (Other accents include black and white veined marble at the store’s threshold and throughout the space.) Museum-style LEDs help add extra drama.
“Subtle references to snow, ice and ‘cold,’ are expressed in warm tones and noble materials,” Burdi says. “The environment brings forward the connotations of nature, winter and the vernacular landscape in an understated manner.”
And, in an attempt to bring a human touch to the store, Mackage displays only one size of each item on the floor, encouraging customers and staff to interact for sizing requests.
PROJECT SUPPLIERS
Retailer
Mackage, Montréal
Design
Burdifilek, Toronto: Diego Burdi, design director; Paul Filek, managing partner; Tom Yip, project manager; Rene Ng, project manager; Jeremy Mendonca, senior designer; Daisuke Matsuura, senior designer; Sally Choi, designer; John Seo, designer; Mike Del Priore, designer; Amir Maddah, production; Yoonah Lee, production; Tannaz Torabi, production; Jacky Ngan, designer
Mackage, Montréal: Eran Elfassy, co-founder and co-creative director; Elisa Dahan, co-founder and co-creative director; Patrick Elfassy, managing director and general legal counsel
Millwork
Ébénisterie G.D. Pro Inc., Montréal
Lighting Design
Marcel Dion Lighting Design
Architecture
Daniel Vély, Atelier D’Architecture Vély, Montréal
General Contractor
Axxys Construction Group, Montréal
Photography: Ben Rahn/A-Frame, Toronto