Azabudai Hills has a similar allure as Roppongi Hills and Omotesando Hills, two other leading shopping hubs in the city, and that’s because it has been built by Mori Building Co., the very same property company. LVMH-owned luxury beauty brand Officine Universelle Buly has opened a new flagship store at Azabudai.
The interior of the retail space, created by quirky co-founder Ramdane Touhami and the brand’s affiliated design company Art Recherche Industrie, offers a stark contrast that’s playfully immersed in classic references. Ornate sideboards adorned with sculpted arches and mascarons with carved lion heads demarcate a large part of the retail space and are paired with travertin floors with ebony cabochions.
The furnishings have been varnished with shellacs, as required by traditional carpentry, lending it an artisanal edge. The columns in enfilade are with ‘balustres’, a nod to the famous balustrades and other ornamented balustrades that grace the staircases of the Opéra Garnier in Paris and the King’s bedroom in the Palace of Versailles. The filigree display cabinets form semi-circular arches, a reverence to Romanesque art. The glass cabinets reveal the curiosities of the apothecary—combs, brushes and care products.
The ceiling offers yet another contrast as it features a clear brushed steel finish. The encapsulated shop section, which feels like a sumptuous private boudoir, features a horseshoe-shaped counter of black Barbençon marble. Glass pediments recall the multiplicity of references and the universality of origins. Opposite, visible from outside the Officine Universelle Buly store, sits another counter where perfumes can be smelled through alembics.
The wooden cabinets feature a whimsical gradation that transforms Empire green into an earthy Sienna tone, signalling a distortion of the image-time according to Touhami. The new Officine Universelle Buly store stocks the full range of fragrances, body, skin and hair care products, and grooming essentials.
Officine Universelle Bully new store at Azabudai Hills in Tokyo
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