Designer Ankur Choksi gives us a tour of Abhishek Gupta store in Delhi

Designed by New Delhi based Studio Lotus, the concept of the Abhishek Gupta Flagship Store embodies his approach in creating signature styles that are contemporary yet deeply rooted in Indian craft. It captures the dual purpose of showcasing two separate product repertoires for Abhishek – his fashion collection and his line of exclusively engineered state-of-the art sound systems through a Listening Room. Both functions had to be concurrent but distinct; with the potential to intrigue and engage a cross-pollination of clients. The design plugs the twin experiences in a unique spatial interrelationship.

A feeling of calm resonates us as Ankur Choksi of Studio Lotus gives us a tour of the outpost and narrates five lesser known innovative aspects of its design.

1. Inserted as a “floating’” cube in the site, the Listening Room forms the core of a classical layout that flows around it. This creates a sequence of courtyards offering a series of intimate browsing pockets in the peripheral space, while allowing the collection to be discovered as one story after the other as you walk through.

2. The acoustically-engineered Listening Room is articulated in mirror cladding that lets it “disappear” and at times be a backdrop to the store’s primary focus — fashion. The interior, planned like a study, allows Abhishek to curate high-end audio equipment and engage in an exclusive listening experience with his clientele. Slim openings in the cube with Priva lite glass panel inserts lets the space fog up for privacy and incite curiosity when not in use.

3. For the retail space, our team sought inspiration from Abhishek’s approach to extrapolating motifs that render depth into his designs. Geometric patterns in varying scale have been used across mediums for embellishing as well as forming a homogenous skin for the store.

4. The perforated composition of these patterns alters in scale, opacity and is applied selectively over mirror and glass to generate the effect of a moire fabric. The multiple layers bring in visual drama and a play of light, while binding the space. The pattern has also been adapted into Mild Steel screens, which are used diversely to demarcate zones, as backdrops and shelving units for lifestyle products curated by Abhishek.

5. The overall space with exposed services has been painted in a deep charcoal tone with an overlay of gold foil detailing accentuating some spaces. The existing loud Italian marble floor was also dyed to develop a vintage dark patina in order to focus the entire highlight on the garments. The overriding hue helps unify the different mediums into a monochromatic canvas, but without losing the richness of the different materials, to present an understated premium expression for the brand.

Website: www.studiolotus.in

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