Studio Lotus creates a memorable experience for shoppers while paying homage to the subcontinent’s textile traditions at Jaypore’s flagship store.
Curated by: Deepa Nair
Photographs: Ravi Asrani; courtesy Studio Lotus
The brief
When Jaypore, the clothing and lifestyle brand, decided to open their flagship store in Bengaluru, they assigned Studio Lotus to create a distinct retail identity for them. Jaypore’s design brief required the studio to highlight the idea of local design with global connect — to appeal to a wider segment of design-conscious shoppers. The brief underscored the renovation of an existing structure and called for subtle design interventions that break rank with other brick-and-mortar stores in the country.
The design intent
The design intent was to create a modular and immersive retail experience reflecting the brand’s core values and unique Indian signature. The interiors of the store unites the malleability of craft with the precision of geometry. As the Bengaluru store was the first of several new ones that would showcase the brand’s revamped identity, Studio Lotus has attempted to highlight its core values of preserving and celebrating the country’s repository of craft forms through its spatial experience. By employing storytelling as a critical driver of brand awareness and recall, the design creates a memorable experience for shoppers while paying homage to the subcontinent’s textile traditions.
The architecture
The design of the store’s three-storey facade is the hallmark of the rebranding exercise — an example of intricate craftsmanship coming together in harmony with cutting-edge engineering. The result of several iterations, a light, perforated skin of geometric latticework made of routered fibre cement boards wraps around the store’s exterior, with its gradated patterns creating a sense of movement and visual dynamism. Jaypore’s bold signages in dual languages and its instantly recognisable ‘J’ logo contrast against this light and muted expression, akin to a giant billboard that creates a distinct identity for the store and the brand. At dusk, the illuminated building appears like a beacon suspended above the streetscape.
The spatial configuration
Spread across two floors, the store’s primary design intervention is the flexible, courtyard-inspired layout comprising a central display area created for displaying the new collections launched periodically by Jaypore. The absence of a false ceiling over this space creates a shift in volume that enhances the viewer’s sense of scale. Painted in terracotta red, the ceiling is accentuated with brass lamps that create a warm and inviting ambience. The peripheral display enclosing this courtyard features custom-designed portals for a systematic and personalised shopping experience.
The material and colour palette
The interiors feature an earthy material palette, providing a pared-down backdrop for the merchandise. Lightly textured Shera board walls imbue the spaces with a tactile quality. A distinctive triangular pattern that draws from a variety of textile traditions, including phulkari, shibori, ikat and kanjeevaram; runs as a common thread through the store, finding expression in the grey tiled flooring, the fabric sandwiched glass partitions and the timber display units. It is also stencilled and printed on the walls of the trial rooms and the staircase.
The peripheral display niches in Shera cement boards are framed within portals of Carrodust stone, and is subtly accentuated by joinery details in brass and powder-coated mild steel. The display is further enhanced by the careful layering of lighting. A cove along the ceiling with flexible track lights highlights merchandise in the peripheral display. Wash lighting on the walls picks up the texture on the cement board panels, imbuing the space with a warm, diffused glow. The mid-floor units are also custom-designed, using a combination of milt steel, stone, and brass.
The brand also has an extensive range of jewellery and accessories that is showcased in an intimate shop-in-shop themed pocket with collections placed in haberdashery-style cabinets. Niches in the walls feature vertical displays of miscellaneous visual merchandising that can be replaced easily. A vibrant lenticular installation composed of timber slats and engraved with patterns derived from India’s textile crafts, forms the backdrop to the billing counter. The sequence of colour on the slats switches with the change in vantage point, adding an element of surprise to the space. Square timber members, with each side stained a different colour native to India, including henna green, ochre yellow, indigo blue, and terracotta, are arranged to form a triangular pattern within the stairwell — yet another spatial installation that establishes a deeper brand connection and anchors the customers’ retail experience.
Fact File
Project: Jaypore
Client: Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited
Location: HSR Layout, Bengaluru
Area: 2,000 sq ft (site) and 4,000 sq ft (built-up, excl BOH)
Principal architect: Asha Sairam
Design team: Parija Chandra, Tanuj Biyani, Aastha Batra and Pooja Rathi
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