Retail / Vivienne Westwood menswear

SPLEEN

Where melancholy
becomes beauty.

170 Oxford Street, Paddington

Retail floor area: 128 m²
Ceiling height: 4.3 m

Morpholio Trace / AutoCAD / SketchUp / Enscape / Photoshop

SPLEEN salon with timber cabinets, antique rug and crystal chandelier

Introduction01

The idea

A store with
a life of its own.

SPLEEN translates Westwood’s historical references, individuality and craftsmanship into a retail interior. Conceived for the Modern Dandy, the space borrows the intimacy of a home: collected objects, layered materials and moments of discovery make shopping a personal ritual.

SPLEEN concept collage of history, melancholy, craft and individuality — Concept / memory, imperfection and self-expression

Concept02

SPLEEN floor plan showing salon, atelier, hidden wardrobes and back of house — Floor plan / a residential sequence within a retail footprint

Spatial planning

Discovery,
by design.

The salon forms the social heart of the store, with the casting atelier visible enough to invite curiosity. Hidden wardrobes extend the journey beyond the main room. While the customer experience feels spontaneous, staff movement, storage and service remain carefully organised.

Spatial planning03

Arrival

Crossing
the threshold.

A draped shopfront offers a glimpse rather than a complete reveal. Inside, a sculptural fountain marks the transition from Oxford Street to a slower, more intimate world of stone, timber and collected objects.

SPLEEN daylight shopfront with layered curtains — The street / a partial reveal

SPLEEN interior threshold with a sculptural fountain — The threshold / retail becomes ritual

Arrival04

SPLEEN salon with sculptural marble display table and chandelier — The salon / a domestic setting for discovery and conversation

The salon

Room to linger.

Timber cabinetry, an antique rug and a crystal chandelier give the main retail space a residential character. Sculptural displays sit within this familiar setting, encouraging visitors to pause, look closely and move at their own pace.

The salon05

A plaster cast of a hand displayed on a slender stand against green and pale walls — A personal artefact / the casting ritual

The atelier

A purchase becomes
a memory.

For significant purchases, visitors are invited to take part in a bespoke plaster-casting ritual. A chosen body part is cast, finished by hand and kept or displayed. The atelier turns craftsmanship into an experience, creating an object whose emotional value lasts beyond the garment.

SPLEEN casting atelier with marble work surfaces and plaster artefacts — The atelier / craft made visible

The casting ritual06

A concealed doorway opening through pale curtains into a richly coloured room — Concealed openings / a glimpse of the unexpected

Concealment

Hidden
in plain sight.

Curtains and concealed openings make discovery part of the spatial experience. A glimpse through the pale drapery draws visitors beyond the open salon and into a smaller, richly coloured room. The threshold adds surprise to the journey and shifts the experience toward a more private scale.

Hidden wardrobes07

Hidden wardrobes

Behind
the wardrobes.

Within the hidden wardrobes, green surfaces and dark stone frames create intimate rooms for selecting garments. Concealed stock storage keeps hanging and folded pieces close to the salon. Warm timber and controlled light carry the store’s residential character into these smaller spaces.

A view from the SPLEEN salon through a narrow opening to concealed storage with hanging shirts — Concealed storage / a glimpse from the salon

An intimate green wardrobe with illuminated ceiling and a Pirates collection reference — Hidden wardrobe / an intimate world

Inside the hidden green wardrobe with dark stone framing, folded garments and a view back to the salon — Within the wardrobe / folded garments and intimate scale

Hidden wardrobes08

Materiality

Beauty in
the fragments.

Fragmented marble, recycled blackbutt, vintage mahogany burl, brass, leather and heavy linen form a richly layered palette. The contrast between stone, warm timber and softer finishes gives the interior its residential character. Material variation, weathering and imperfection carry SPLEEN’s themes of history and craftsmanship into the space.