neri&hu weaves marble & linen screens into Ms MIN retail space

Ms MIN retail space recalls a traditional fabric atelier

Launched in 2010 by Liu Min and Ian Hylton, Ms MIN is a young fashion brand emphasizing fabric and fit. For their retail space in Taikoo Li, one of Shanghai’s most popular retail destinations, Neri&Hu harkens back to the notion of a traditional fabric atelier, showcasing craftsmanship, rich materiality, and domestic sensibility. The concept circles back to the history and etymology of textile (derived from the Latin ‘texere’, which means ‘to weave’). Prior to the Industrial Revolution, fabrics were made by the hands of individual families in Chinese villages; carding, spinning, and weaving all took place in farmhouses, with a loom that could be found in every well-conditioned homestead. While the textile industry has evolved over centuries, the traditions and original spirit of textile-making are kept alive.

image © Zhu Runzi

neri&hu’s light & partitioned design for the store in shanghai

The team at Neri&Hu divided the Ms MIN Retail Space (see more here) into several zones thanks to a series of partitions composed of brass, green marble, and limestone. To the right, the atelier is expressed as a wooden structure with overhanging eaves and serves as a reception up front and studio area inside. Along the windows to the left of the shop, the same wooden structures form an open grid with cloths hanging in between as lightweight partitions. Natural daylight and the chaos of the Taikoo Li shopping mall are filtered by the sheer fabric screens, giving the space an overall sense of calmness and lightness. Upon entering the room, nothing seems overdone, and everything appears to flow as one, inviting shoppers to browse and explore at their own pace.

Between the atelier and the wooden cloth racks lies an internal courtyard paved traditionally, using curved roof tiles stacked and inlaid. A series of panels are arranged in the courtyard, forming interconnected yet distinct exhibition spaces that can be re-arranged and interchanged to suit various motifs for every season, as fashion is always fast-paced and evolving. Neri & Hu’s custom mannequin figures for Ms MIN are made with linen, a material that gives a skin-like subtle texture. Lastly, a lighting design by Viabizzuno further accentuates the color palette as one moves away from the windows and natural daylight, flooding the interiors with warmer tones.