French studio Barbarito Bancel Architectes has wrapped the Dior Boutique in Miami’s Design District with curved white concrete panels. The aim of the project was to create a skin for the boutique that would reflect Dior’s image and identity, searching values where Haute Couture and Architecture could meet. From this combination, a duality emerges, linking the Haute-Couture with fashion and the ephemeral, and constantly needs to renew itself. Architecture, on the other hand, transcends fashion and its image needs to outlive times as it goes by, continuing to represent the Dior spirit in a lasting manner.
More than a question of style, the Architecture is a question of light, proportion, and elegance. So, under the light, the sculptured white volume reveals its cut. Through large curved movements of white concrete, clear figures of the ‘plissée’ take shape, between which the spaces of the boutique slide in. The nobility of the smooth and delicate surfaces is given by a contemporary material made of ultra high-density concrete and by marble powder.
The project also respects its commercial nature. The building does not want to appear as an institution or a museum, and its generous shop windows open to the immediate public place. The drawing is influenced by the suggestive inspirations of Miami, images of sun and beaches along with an idea of dynamism, youth, and contemporary design.
Designed to resemble pleats in a skirt or dress, the skin draws references to Dior’s Japanese-inspired Spring Summer collection from 2007. The interiors were designed by Peter Marino.
all images © Alessandra Chemollo