Valextra

Status

Completed

Date Completed

2019

Scale

600 sf | 55 sm

Typology

Retail

Scope

Objects

Client

Valextra

Project Team

Mei-Lan Tan

Collaborators

COLLECTIVE Studio

In collaboration with COLLECTIVE Studio, Umé Studio designed and fabricated custom cast concrete display tools for the Honolulu location of Valextra, a luxury Italian leather goods brand.

Set within Honolulu’s open-air Ala Moana Center, this boutique redefines the traditional retail threshold. A series of 4-meter-tall, rotating glass doors open perpendicular to the storefront, creating a luminous, fully accessible entry that blurs the line between indoor and outdoor space.

The interior draws inspiration from the island’s natural landscape, merging Hawaiian context with Italian craft. Along the store’s perimeter, “The Beach” features sand-colored raw earth blocks by Italian craftsman Matteo Brioni, which serve as sculptural display platforms and seating for visitors. In the center, “The Mountain” reimagines three-dimensional blocks produced by Italian ceramics company Mutina into a cascading, occupiable display landscape.

Storefront of Valextra with open glass doors and mountain-inspired display of colorful handbags inside.

A stack of pale blue and sand-colored custom retail display tools fabricated for the Valextra store in Honolulu.

Three sand-colored concrete display tools arranged on a white table.

Umé Studio designed and produced custom display tools to match the level of craft in the space. Valextra’s leather goods and Mutina’s ceramic blocks both appear effortless—smooth, matte—but an incredible amount of workmanship has gone into these pieces. Similarly, the display tools required an intensive iterative process to develop a cast concrete material that would be highly uniform as well as incredibly durable for a retail environment. Created from a special blend of gypsum and sand with custom color mixes to match the “Beach” and “Mountain” displays, these tools ultimately recede so that Valextra’s colorful products can shine.

The project was awarded an American Institute of Architects (AIA) Merit Award from the Hong Kong chapter in 2020 for Interiors.

Two orange leather handbags displayed on sand-colored display tools and blocks.

A beige leather case is propped up against a pale blue wedge-shaped concrete display tool inside the Valextra store.

Black leather luggage set and small leather accessories rest on the sand-colored custom display tools inside the store.

Pink, red, and white wallets rest on sand-colored display tools inside the Valextra store.

Closeup of a rainbow of small leather goods, supported by sand-colored display tools.

The concrete display tools’ dimensions were calibrated precisely for Valextra’s specific products.

“To match the level of craft of Valextra’s leather goods, an intensive iterative process was used to develop custom display tools that are highly uniform in finish as well as incredibly durable for a retail environment. ”

‍

Colorful small leather goods are supported by wedge-shaped pale blue concrete display tools against a sand-colored wall.

Four black geometric molds sit on a tiled surface in sunlight, casting long shadows.

Concrete display tools in production on tables inside Umé Studio's brick warehouse.

Two columns of pale blue and sand-colored concrete tiles on a wooden floor, used to test and match colors.

The black forms were created to fabricate the molds for the final product; production at Umé Studio; color testing to ensure an exact match with the store’s other elements.

Variety of small concrete display tools in pale blue and sand colors, arranged on a white table.

State, Country

“To match the level of craft of Valextra’s leather goods, an intensive iterative process was used to develop custom display tools that are highly uniform in finish as well as incredibly durable for a retail environment. ”