The Australian skin and hair care brand, Aesop, appears to be taking Europe by storm. The 4th signature store to open in Paris is on rue Tiquetonne, and was designed by Cigue. As is the custom with this brand, the design acknowledges the heritage of the area in which it is located. The concept of their latest store is that of a small workshop with the tools hanging from metal fixtures on the walls.
On walls of maple wood and stone, neat rows of hand made squared nails placed closely together form narrow shelving on which the bottles of products are placed. The workshop aspect continues through to waxed concrete floors and the unpolished steel of the taps and pipework on an old fashioned sink, all hand fitted by the architects thereby avoiding the professional standard finish produced by a plumber.
The only colour in the store is on the window facade which is a vintage pale blue paint, a colour which is quite at home in one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Paris and on a street which still houses the mom and pop store side by side with the more trendy upmarket ones.
