Harmays Cosmetics Store in Hong Kong Swaps Glamour for Mystery

2019-08-05 18:20

Despite the convenience of online shopping, there’d still a case to be made that brick-and-mortar stores will never be eclipsed because they offer an all-sensory experience that by definition a digital retailer cannot provide. This is especially true for beauty retailers where feeling the product on your skin or savouring a perfume’s fragrance is an integral part of the shopping experience, which explains why a successful cosmetics e-tailer such as HARMAY decided to enter the foray of traditional shopping. Starting with a store in Shanghai in 2017, the brand has just opened its second location in Hong Kong. Designed by AIM Architecture, the Shanghai-based practice behind both stores, the Hong Kong shop eschews the conventional set-up of modern beauty emporiums for the austerity of an old-school apothecary, proving that the ‘traditional’ shopping experience can be anything but traditional. Minimalist in sensibility and industrial in aesthetic, the store swaps glamour for mystery, transforming the shopping experience from a browsing activity to a journey of discovery.

尽管网上购物很方便，但仍有理由认为实体店绝不会黯然失色，因为它们提供了数字零售商无法提供的全方位感官体验。对于那些在你的皮肤上感受到产品或品尝香水是购物体验不可或缺的一部分的美容零售商来说尤其如此，这就解释了为什么像HARMAY这样的成功的化妆品电子零售商决定进入传统购物的尝试。从2017年在上海的一家门店开始，该品牌刚刚在香港开设了第二家门店。由总部位于上海的两家门店背后的aimArchitecture设计，这家香港店避开了传统的现代美容商场，以节省一家老派药房的开支，这证明了“传统”购物体验绝不是传统的。在感性和工业的审美方面，商店将魅力转换为神秘，将购物体验从浏览活动转变为发现之旅。

Photo by Dirk Weiblen.

作者声明：by J.

Photo by Dirk Weiblen.

作者声明：by J.

Photo by Dirk Weiblen.

作者声明：by J.

Located on a winding, narrow Hong Kong street packed with shops and restaurants, the shopfront, half glass – half perforated metal screen, stands out in its understated simplicity, the only visible indication of the brand being the letter H formed by light tubes. The same subverting sensibility defines the shop’s interior: no visible products, promotional signage or attention-grabbing screens are anywhere to be found; instead, the walls are lined with stainless steel drawers, stacked up to the ceiling in an orderly fashion just like safe deposit boxes, giving the impression that you’ve entered a bank vault – an impression, which far from subtracting from HARMAY products’ allure, enhances their preciousness. Guided by subtle signage, this peculiar set up encourages visitors to open drawers and discover the products inside.

酒店位于一条狭窄的香港街道上，有商店和餐厅，商店前，半玻璃-半穿孔的金属滤网，以其低调的简洁性脱颖而出，唯一可见的品牌是由光管形成的字母H。同样的颠覆敏感性定义了商店的内部：没有可见的产品、促销标志或注意力抓取屏幕在任何地方都可以找到；相反，墙壁衬有不锈钢抽屉，以有序的方式堆放在天花板上，就像保险箱一样，给人的印象是你已经进入了银行金库，这给人的印象是你已经进入了银行保险库，这给人的印象是你已经进入了银行保险库，这给人留下了一种印象，它远远没有从Harbay的产品中减去诱惑，提高了他们的精确性。通过隐蔽的标志引导，这种奇特的设置鼓励参观者打开抽屉并发现里面的产品。

Photo by Dirk Weiblen.

作者声明：by J.

Photo by Dirk Weiblen.

作者声明：by J.

Photo by Dirk Weiblen.

作者声明：by J.

Enveloped in exposed concrete and visible brickwork, the shop’s purposefully unglamorous interior conveys a no-frills sensibility whereby the quality of the products speak for itself – flashy surroundings, the architects seem to imply, are the equivalent of fancy wrapping paper, they’re just not needed if what you are selling is indeed exceptional. The industrial aesthetic of the stripped down building fabric, which continuous on the upper floor, makes the 141 square metre store appear much more spacious than it is – a blessing in Hong Kong’s notoriously cramped property market.

被露在外面的混凝土和可见的砖块包裹着，店内故意地散发着一种无趣的感觉，在这种感觉下，产品的质量代表了自己-建筑师们似乎暗示，华丽的环境相当于花哨的包装纸，如果你卖的东西真的很特别的话，它们就是不需要的。这套被剥落的建筑面料的工业美学使得141平方米的店面显得比现在宽敞得多-在香港素以拥挤著称的房地产市场上，这是一件好事。

Photo by Dirk Weiblen.

作者声明：by J.

Photo by Dirk Weiblen.

作者声明：by J.

Photo by Dirk Weiblen.

作者声明：by J.

Upstairs, the stainless steel drawers are replaced by stainless steel mirrored cabinets suspended from the ceiling inside of which visitors have the opportunity to discover more products. The reflective cabinets imbue the space with a sense of wonder and illusion and further enhance the discovery aspect of the entire shopping experience. Similarly, the glass-fronted powder room on the same level confounds shoppers with its lack of privacy urging them to second guess its function until they spot the curtain that allows for visible separation. Much like the drawers downstairs that visitors are encouraged to open, drawing the curtain shut is one more opportunity for physical contact; a tactile experience after all is the one thing that online shopping can never compete with.

楼上，不锈钢抽屉被悬挂在天花板上的不锈钢镜面橱柜取代，游客们有机会发现更多的产品。反光柜给空间注入了一种奇幻感，进一步增强了整个购物体验的发现方面。同样，在同一层的玻璃前化妆室也让购物者感到困惑，因为它缺乏隐私，促使他们去猜测它的功能，直到他们发现允许明显分离的窗帘。就像楼下鼓励游客打开的抽屉一样，拉开窗帘是身体接触的又一次机会；毕竟，触觉体验是网上购物永远无法与之竞争的一件事。