The Grey Gem

Nestled in the quiet arcade of Defence Colony, New Delhi, where every labyrinth pops out signage of all big names of fashion industry, Ashish N Soni's Concept Studio minimalism and luxury all in a muted grey colour tone.

The 1800 sq ft store has a flexible space for men and women keeping the fact in mind that Ashish has introduced his women's line first time in India. Narrating more on the grey colour theme.  Shunning from the concept of windows, one wall of the store is dedicated to a area, which the designer is calling "High Fashion Street Walk”, where full-length suits are displayed through frames. "to create a sophisticated sheen, these frames are PO on Duco internally cladded with grey velvet,” Mathur informed. Another breath-taking element of the store is the lighting in the center of the retail space, which is made of 300 individual glass pieces suspended meticulously to suit the tone of the store.

Front wall is a 16ftX 10ftquilted felt wall which has been done in single piece. The trial rooms, tucked behind the felt wall, continued the felt language with ceiling-to-bottom curtain made of high-end jacket fabric. Suspended alterable mannequin with customized ceiling-mounted stainless steel rods is displaying a woman's ensemble in this season. "Hanging mannequin depicts Asish's first initiative towards womenwear retail. this section uses 4-sided displays in different heights of displays to accommodate full dresses, shirts, tops and jackets,” informed Mathur. Part of men's section has a huge shirt rack with in-lit show display bottom and hidden storage options.

Ashish N Soni's Concept Studio minimalism "The store is exactly where the classic meets contemporary through customized furnishings, unexpected wall surface textures, chrome-finished racking system etc. We have embraced a store concept that says, "nothing is quite as it seems,” informed Ashish's team.

Vineet Mathur, Architect, Arcasion Design Studio, said, "The colour scheme is chosen simply because we wanted the merchandises to stand out. Starting from nickel-finished display racks to wooden flooring to felt quilted wall to art-like frames - all spell the muted tone.”