Travel Retailer Lagardère Opens Balenciaga Store in Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
Balenciaga has opened its first store in a European airport, in Lounge 2 of the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.
The Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is one of Europe’s busiest airports, and Lounge 2 is the area for intercontinental travelers. The store will feature both women’s and men’s shoes, bags, eyewear, jewelry, and accessories.
From a design perspective, the space represents the latest iteration of Balenciaga’s “Raw Architecture” concept, reflecting an unfinished quality. The store’s concrete façade appears weathered and unprimed, providing contrast to the glowing Balenciaga logo.
Similarly rough, colorless surfaces are found throughout the space, and were inspired by the patinas found in construction sites and gutted buildings. The floor has been constructed with poured concrete tiles that have been textured to look and feel like an outdoor sidewalk, and the walls are paneled with distressed concrete or covered with mottled, concrete-grey curtains. The ceiling is a steel grid hung with industrial lighting exposing the technical infrastructure beneath. Shelves and display tables are made of aluminum, with leather seating, and hanging bars that have been aged to match to the atmosphere of architechtural degradation and decay, creating a stripped-down backdrop for the label’s latest collections.
