MELBOURNE: Ksubi's retail space in the Victorian capital's fashion heartland has won a national interior design award.
The cult denim and urbanwear brand's 'The Bombed Mache' store - located at 1021 High Street Armadale - has taken out the top prize at The Interior Design Awards 2008.
Designed and created by Ksubi in association with Herbert Mason Architects, the store was conceived as a deliberate rejection of stereotypical retail interior design, a Ksubi spokesperson said.
"The concept challenges formal design and architecture. It focuses on salvage and 'mash' culture, with its cut-and-paste ethos creating the interesting, the unpredictable and the esoteric. The collaborative design between fashion designer and architect skews the constraints of traditional store design, and the result is redolent of 'homeless chic'."
With its reused materials and 'anti retail therapy' aesthetic, the shop was designed to act as a temporary destination, reflecting the impermanence of retail design.
"Eighty per-cent of the shop is constructed from refuse and throw away materials. The entire design is customised and hand crafted to render materials beyond their original means of recognition or expectations."
Australia’s foremost interior design accolade, The Interior Design Awards program was developed by the Australian design industry to celebrate and promote outstanding commercial and residential design. Its purpose was to celebrate and recognise interior design excellence via a credible, industry-based program, backed by the Design Institute of Australia, the professional body representing Australian designers.