Vlisco Boutique, Benin store: West Africa shop design

Vlisco Boutique Benin shop, West African retail building photo, store design architect

Benin Store : African Shop Building

Vlisco Boutique Benin design by Creneau International

9 Mar 2010

Benin Shop Building

Design: Davy Grosemans, Kurt Carmans, Fre Lemmens, Serge Haelterman

photo : Creneau International

Vlisco Boutique in Benin

Rebranding a European fabric manufacturer into an African fashion icon? Designing a flagship store and dress it up in Africa?

Together with Vlisco Creneau International drew the sketch lines for a new image, in order to exceed the traditional borders afterwards…From a rough polished logo and elegant house style to a sparkling flagship store concept, from website to POS-material…not a single detail got left behind during this makeover madness!

photos : Creneau International

Dark ebony wood figures as a uniform backdrop in contrast to the explosion of colors created by hundreds of fabrics, giving the same effect as the fabric on the skin of the African people. Each fabric tells a story or legend about Africa trough the colors, patterns and names of the fabrics : The “book closet” and the big reading tables create the atmosphere of a library where you can read the fabrics like books.

The ready-to-wear collection emphasizes the change to fashion brand, and is exposed in a central focal point in the store. “Le coin princesse” is the huge fitting room, subtly separated, where the “ultra rich & famous” can admire themselves in the “queen mirror”. The African people love gold, so the designers opted for golden and messing finishing of details in the store. Less subtle is the impressive storefront of “Le Boutique” that is covered with hundreds of mosaic tiles in gold above the windows.

2D Vlisco
Re-styling an existing logo? For Vlisco, it had to involve the incorporation of the key brand values Class, Elegance, Quality and Inspiration. Until the present day Vlisco manufactures fabrics in an artisanal way, leading to just-not-perfect patterns on the fabrics. Those little imperfections inspired the designers to implementing that characteristic in the house style. They avoided a brushed and slick image and created a rough finishing for a classy logo (“Vlisco”), highlighted by some rough accents (the sun).

Address:
Vlisco Boutique
Avenue Clozel
Centre commercial Ganhi
Cotonou
Benin

Vlisco Boutique Benin images / information from Creneau International : Architecture

Location: Benin, Africa

Retail Buildings

African Architecture

Vlisco Boutiques

Vlisco Stores

Benin, Togo, Ivory Coast, The Netherlands, Nigeria

English text:

Creneau International

Their logo? Two winged monkeys. Their tagline? ‘Hac itur ad astra’ (*)… as you might have guessed, the ‘atmosphere architects’ at Creneau International stand out from the crowd. Through ‘ideas of the anti-ordinary’, they leave their mark on visual communication across the globe – from design concepts and graphic design to interior design and brand experience. To reach for the stars (*), there’s nothing like taking the shortcut ‘Creneau International’, as many other brands do. Their international portfolio is further proof: visit www.creneau.com.

Based in Hasselt, the company’s headquarters serves as its home base. It houses a creative unit and a logistics team, a Sales & Account department, and a division dedicated to franchise concepts implemented worldwide. In 2007, a new office was opened in Dubai. Furthermore, ‘atmosphere architects’ is represented by an agent in Prague, Kyiv, and Sydney.

French text:

À propos de Creneau International

Leur logo? Deux singes ailés. Leur baseline? ‘Hac itur ad astra’ (*)… vous l’aurez compris, les ‘atmosphere architects’ de Creneau International sortent du lot. Par le biais ‘d’ideas of the anti-ordinary’, ils marquent de leur sceau la communication visuelle aux quatre coins de la planète – depuis les concepts de design jusqu’aux travaux graphiques en passant par l’aménagement intérieur et l’expérience de marque. Pour rejoindre les étoiles (*), rien de tel qu’emprunter le raccourci ‘Creneau International’, à l’exemple de nombreuses enseignes. Le portefeuille international en témoigne également: consultez le site www.creneau.com.

Implanté à Hasselt, le siège social est le port d’attache de l’entreprise. Il comporte une cellule créative et une équipe logistique, un département Sales & Account ainsi qu’une division pour les concepts de franchise implémentés partout dans le monde. En 2007, une nouveau bureau a été ouvert à Dubaï. Par ailleurs, les ‘atmosphere architects’ sont représentés via un agent à Prague, Kiev et Sydney.

Creneau International based in Hasselt, Belgium