A new store designed by architect William Russell of Pentagram for clothing designer Margaret Howell opened in Paris last week.

A continuous rail displays the clothing alongside objects and furniture chosen by Howell to be sold in the store, including furniture pieces from British furniture manufacturers Ercol and lighting from Anglepoise.

Materials include oak, stained wooden floorboards, concrete and mild steel.

The design will be applied to an existing store in Tokyo, then extended across all Howell's shops in Japan.

Here's some more information from Pentagram:

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Pentagram Architects designs retail interiors for Margaret Howell in Paris and Tokyo.

“For the past ten years I have worked with Will Russell on the design of our shop interiors. Whilst incorporating my ideas, Will always adds something that just wouldn’t occur to me - a special spatial vision - resulting in a rewarding and successful working relationship”. – Margaret Howell

Pentagram Architect William Russell has designed two new retail interiors for the renowned fashion designer Margaret Howell. The new stores, in Paris and Tokyo, will be used as the basis for the rollout of a unified interior design throughout Margaret Howell’s 66 Japanese stores.

Originally developed for Margaret Howell’s London Flagship Store and studio on Wigmore Street and adapted for her second London Store on the Fulham Road, Russell’s pared-down interior design emphasises a sense of space and simplicity. The design focuses on the inherent visual properties of materials such as oak, stained wooden floorboards, concrete and mild steel, echoing the timeless, understated style and commitment to traditional and natural fabrics of Howell’s clothing. A continuous clothes rail lines the walls, while accessories and homeware are displayed on full height Vitsoe shelving.

The stores are furnished with objects handpicked by Howell for sale alongside her clothes, including Ercol tables and chairs, Anglepoise lamps and Howell’s Reissue of Ernest Race’s 1955 Heron chair and footstall.

The Paris store, located at 6 Place de la Madeleine, occupies a former hairdresser’s shop that has remained unused for the past 35 years. The store has a destination-like quality enhanced by the tranquillity of its site; a private courtyard just off the main square.

In Tokyo, Pentagram Architects’ design is being applied to an existing store in the Jinnan-Shibuya district. The Jinnan-Shibuya store will provide a design blueprint for the remodelling of each of Margaret Howell’s stores in Japan, bringing them in to line with the European interiors created by Russell and unifying the in-store experience throughout the international Margaret Howell brand.

Margaret Howell Jinnan-Shibuya reopens on March 4. The opening of Margaret Howell Paris will be marked by an opening event on Thursday 26 March.

Project credits:
Architect: Pentagram Architects
Partner-in-charge: William Russell
Design team: Ali Tabrizi