saint of athens devises boutique store in mykonos as a white marble quarry

nikos athina’s flagship encapsulates mediterranean culture

Fusing timeless Greek aesthetics and Mediterranean culture, heritage brand Nikos Athina has unveiled its new flagship store for the House of Sculpture on the island of Mykonos. The space is realized by Saint of Athens who driven by the aesthetics of classical art, have crafted a quarry-like boutique made of sculpted blocks of Dionysus marble — the same kind used to build the Parthenon. The spatial concept derives as an analogy to the form of the brand’s iconic perfume bottle, reminiscent of a boat’s sail or a sculpted piece of marble.

all images courtesy of the author

saint of athens carves a cycladic quarry-like interior

At its core, Nikos Athina embodies Greek soul and heritage with a design philosophy that encapsulates Mediterranean culture. The brand’s collections, spanning swimwear, underwear, and perfume, exude an elegant and timeless allure, transcending fleeting fashion trends, and preserving classical artistry. The flagship store’s design concept likewise seeks to generate a natural and artistic ambiance. Saint of Athens devised the space to not merely showcase Nikos Athina’s creations, but to embody the brand’s essence, akin to a thematic art gallery offering a singular experience to its visitors.

Striving to blend timeless artistic spirit, refined simplicity, upscale fashion, and Greek heritage, the design team sited the flagship store on the island of Mykonos — a cosmopolitan space amidst the whitewashed Cycladic landscape. The design concept revolves around the brand’s trademark griffin, symbolizing a primitive-like creative force that transforms objects into artworks. This essence was captured in the design by taking inspiration from the natural transformation or raw nature into art — the marble quarry. The designers, in collaboration with marble experts from Form To Matter, selected Dionysos marble from Penteli, the very material used in constructing masterpieces like the Parthenon. The selected blocks were cut to the desired size and then sculpted to create a full-scale mock-up of the store to ensure an impeccable final result. This was then dismantled and the marble pieces shipped to Mykonos and reassembled at the store’s site.

Saint of Athens unveils Nikos Athina’s new flagship store

the design concept creates a quarry-like interior

surfaces are sculpted from Dionysus marble — the same kind used to build the Parthenon

generating a natural and artistic ambiance

Nikos Athina embodies Mediterranean culture

Saint of Athens crafted the interior in collaboration with marble experts from Form To Matter

the spatial design was first built to scale, and the blocks were then transported to Mykonos

the space is imagined as a thematic art gallery offering a singular experience to its visitors

project info:

name: Nikos Athina Mykonos
designer: Saint of Athens
location: Mykonos, Greece

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edited by: ravail khan | designboom