There are Børge Mogensen sofas and Hugo Passos tables, GamFratesi loveseats and Welling/Ludvik chairs, concrete floors and skyline views. But most importantly there is light, and lots of it – from double-height windows and banks of enormous roof lights. And at this time of year we could all use a little extra light in our lives. Luckily, for Copenhagen residents at least, the new Fredericia flagship store is now open for business.
Over two levels atop the historic former Royal Mail House in central Copenhagen, with views of the striking Sankt Petri church spire, the new showroom displays more than a lifetime’s worth of product over 1,100 sq m. Recognisable classics, many from longtime Fredericia collaborator Mogensen, interact with new commissions by designers from locations as far flung as Japan and America, in a space styled like a welcoming home-from-home. Conceived by Peter Hagen of Copen Hagen Agency, the space will surely help the brand reconcile its legacy within the 21st-century retail landscape.
The space features designs from Japan and the US
Fredericia has had showrooms before, but none that amounts to a museum of the brand’s 106-year history as this one does. Mogensen’s original ‘2213’ sofa, which once sat in the designer’s own home, features in the sunny foyer; his midcentury ‘Spanish’ and ‘Hunting’ chairs face contemporary brethren like the ‘Kile’ sofa by Jasper Morrison and Space Copenhagen’s ‘Spine’ daybed. Almost everything is for sale.
CEO Kaja Møller calls it a ‘living showroom’ incorporating a creative workspace and gallery with changing exhibitions. ‘We look forward to welcoming architects, customers and other visitors from all over the world to experience our brand in this unique environment,’ she says.
