Gentle Monster‘s Shanghai flagship reopened earlier this month after a sweeping three-month renovation.
Rebranded Haus Nowhere, the latest iteration of the South Korean cult eyewear label’s “future retail” format includes an eyewear section, a fragrance section for Tamburins, a dessert section for Nudake, as well as a fashion retail section that brings four popular Korean brands to the China market for the first time.
The revamped Gentle Monster flagship comprises a total space of 3,350 square meters spanning four stories.
The first floor of the store displays the recently launched Maison Margiela x Gentle Monster collaboration, made more dramatic by neighboring installations that include two dancing androids bonded by white georgette and a few robotic tentacles.
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On the far left corner of the shop floor, a series of mouthwatering croissant-shaped fitness equipment decorates the Nudake dessert section, perhaps in a fun poke at toxic online fitness culture. Traversing to the far right corner of the first floor, shoppers will find a section dedicated to Tamburins, Gentle Monster’s hand cream and fragrance label. Tamburins may have gained popularity as a Jennie-endorsed K-beauty label, but here at the store, it’s attracting a selfie-hungry crowd with an elderly robot couple who are cheekily displaying affection by the shop window.
On the second floor, which only carries optical products, shoppers are greeted by Gentle Monster’s now iconic giant robotic faces. With their ponytails tied together, the installation is zen and provocative. Other abstract installations, including a warped form of a female figure, help add retail drama to the second floor.
The third floor, formerly an SND shop-in-shop, which was a year-long collaboration between Gentle Monster and the Chongqing-based multibrand fashion retailer, has been redesigned as retail corners for Eenk, Amomento, Open YY and Thisisneverthat.
Six thousand cobblestones are displayed in an orderly fashion on the fourth floor. Upon closer inspection, a key is hidden underneath each stone, and a lucky customer will be able to get hold of one that can unlock a philosopher’s stone enclosed in a glass cabinet at the end of the hall. The lucky shopper will then be gifted a 50,000 renminbi, or $6,945, voucher for the flagship.
According to Gentle Monster, Haus Nowhere is meant to “offer customers a profound retail experience,” the company said in a press release. “Haus Nowhere plans to continuously present various pop-ups and cultural content to visitors,” the company added.
Apart from Haus Nowhere, Gentle Monster counts 19 stores across first and second-tiered cities in mainland China.
To fete the launch of the flagship, Gentle Monster hosted a launch party featuring Taiwanese actor Greg Han, Chinese supermodel Ming Xi and Chinese influencer-turned-actress Mengling Yi.