Dutch duo Viktor & Rolf employ ’ghost architecture’ for their surreal Parisian flagship

In the topsy-turvy, altogether surreal world of Viktor & Rolf, store design is anything but homogenised. So for the Dutch duo’s first Parisian store there was always going to be a twist. After all, the now closed Milanese flagship, designed by Siebe Tettero and Sherrie Zwail of SZI DesignSiebe, was fashioned entirely upside down, Alice in Wonderland-style.

Here on the rue Saint-Honoré the dominant material is a monochromatic grey felt, employed with a technique known as ‘ghost architecture’ and executed with neoclassical finesse. Conceived by Pierre Beucler and Jean-Christophe Poggioli of Architecture & Associés, the two-storey, 700 sq m space accommodates ready-to-wear, accessories and fragrance – as well as the designers’ haute couture collection, available on request and an altogether contemporary concept in itself.