Flagship Store for JAYPORE

The Flagship Retail Space Revamps Jaypore’s Brand and Spatial Identity, Preservingits Focus on Craft-Inspired Storytelling While Giving it a Fresh Facelift

A mid-luxury clothing and lifestyle brand, Jaypore celebrates the delicate artistry ofhandmade products and high-quality craftsmanship.Having recently been acquired by theAditya Birla Group, the design brief for its flagship store entailed developing anew retailidentity that would highlight the idea of local design with global connect to appeal to a widersegment of design-conscious shoppers.

The brief underscored the renovation of an existing structure and called for subtle designinterventions that break rank with other brick-and-mortar stores in the country. The designintent was to create a modular and immersive retail experience reflectingthe brand’s corevalues and unique Indian signature.

INTERIOR: Studio Lotus 

Photographer: Ravi Asrani

The store spans 3,800 sq. ft. across two levels. Among the primary design interventions is theflexible, courtyard-inspired layout comprising a central display area for new collectionslaunched periodically by the brand. The absence of a false ceiling over this space creates ashift in volume that enhances the viewer’s sense of scale. Painted in terracotta red, the ceilingis accentuated with brass lamps that create a warm and inviting ambience. The peripheraldisplay enclosing this courtyard features custom-designed portals for a systematic andpersonalized shopping experience.

The interiors feature an earthy material palette, providing a pared-down backdrop for themerchandise. Lightly textured Shera board walls imbue the spaces with a tactile quality. Adistinctive triangular pattern that draws from a variety of textile traditions, including phulkari, shibori, ikatandkanjeevaram; runs as a common thread through the store, findingexpression in the grey tiled flooring, the fabric sandwiched glass partitions and the timberdisplay units. It is also stencilled and printed on the walls of the trial rooms and the staircase.

The peripheral display niches in Shera board are framed within portals of Carroduststone,subtly accentuated by joinery details in brass and powder-coated MS. The display is furtherenhanced by careful layering of lighting. A cove along the ceiling with flexible track lightshighlights merchandise in the peripheral display. Wash lightingon the walls picks up thetexture on the Shera board panels, imbuing the space with a warm, diffused glow. The mid-floor units are also custom-designed, using a combination of MS, stone, and brass.

The brand also has an extensive range of jewellery and accessories that is showcased in anintimate shop-in-shop themed pocket with collections placed in haberdashery-style cabinets.Niches in the walls feature vertical displays showcasing miscellaneous visual merchandisingthat can be replaced easily.

A vibrant lenticular installation forms the backdrop to the billing counter; composed oftimber slats, it is engraved with patterns derived from India’s textile crafts. The sequence ofcolour on the slats changes with the change in vantage point, adding an elementof surprise to the space. Square timber members, with each side stained a different colour native to India,includinghennagreen, ochre yellow, indigo blue, and terracotta, are arranged to form atriangular pattern within the stairwell—yet another spatial installation that establishes adeeper brand connection and anchors the customers’ retail experience.

The design of the store’s three-storey facade is the hallmark of the rebranding exercise, anexample of intricate craftsmanship coming together in harmony with cutting-edgeengineering. The result of several iterations, a light, perforated skin of geometric latticeworkmade of routered fibre cement boards wraps around the store’s exterior, with its gradatedpatterns creating a sense of movement and visual dynamism. Jaypore’s bold signages in duallanguages and its instantly recognisable ‘J’ logo contrast against this light and mutedexpression, akin to a giant billboard that creates a distinct identity for the store and the brand.Viewed at dusk, the illuminated building appears like a beacon suspended above thestreetscape.

The interiors of Jaypore’s flagship store unite the malleability of craft with the precision ofgeometry. The first of several new stores that will showcase the brand’s revamped identity, anattempt has been made to highlight its core values of preserving and celebrating the country’srepository of craft forms through its spatial experience. By employing storytelling as a criticaldriver of brand awareness and recall, the design creates a memorable experience for shopperswhile paying homage to the subcontinent’s textile traditions.