The Sydney Westfield outlet of luxe jewellery retailer Linneys has won the centre's national peer review design award.
The store, which opened officially in October 2010, beat out hundreds of competing Westfield-based businesses around Australia to take the top prize for “Best Retail Design: New Merchant”.
The winning Linneys showroom, one of six around the country, was designed by Carol Anne Cassidy and Associates of Perth and is the first Sydney location for the brand. The final layout, which boasts a 17 metre frontage, includes a suite of 22 showcases, vertical mirror panels, full height double glazed entry doors with custom designed door handles detailed with the Linneys signature “L”, and elaborate armoire cabinetry. Layered black textures, velvet trimmings and bright yellow “Bloom” chairs (winner of the Coup D’Acour Award at Maison Objet Paris 2009) complete the look.
Cassidy said that she was thrilled to receive the award and she has used a similar technique with a twist for the most recent Linneys base in Perth.
“It was an excellent project to work on given the centre’s prestige and a client who trusted in the design strategy I created,” she said.
“I have just completed another Linneys store at Burswood Entertainment Complex Perth based on the same styling, but it also includes some new surprise elements.”
The Sydney Westfield location is also a coup for the brand, which also recently picked up Australian TVstar Jessica Marais as the face for its latest advertising campaign and 2011 collection. The store, on the luxury level of the complex, rubs shoulders with iconic labels such as Gucci, Diane Von Fustenberg and Bottega Veneta, and this is an added bonus, according Linney creative director Alan Linney.
“Westfield Sydney offers an unrivalled shopping experience in the heart of the city. It’s just undergone a 1.2 billion dollar expansion making it a world class retail and commercial precinct and we felt it was fitting for Linneys to be located on the luxury level among the world’s leading names in fashion and design,” he said.