Aesop store by MLKK Studio

There’s no denying, Aesop is well-rooted in Hong Kong‘s retail scene, managing ten stores at some of the city’s most coveted locations. However, it lacked a presence at Fashion Walk, a shopping precinct in the Causeway Bay neighbourhood comprising a mix of cool premium and high-end shops lining open-air streets and in a shopping centre. Well, that was yesterday. The Melbourne-based brand has secured a two-level unit, and the interior design is a collaboration between its in-house design team and local architecture practice MLKK Studio. Aesop‘s design-led store interiors always reference the host city, and here, it uses scraps of cloudy pattern board, a ubiquitous material in local households of the 1970s and 1980s, which have been repurposed as textural floor covering.

The walls and the elegantly vaulted ceiling are dipped in a soft blue shade, while a large counter with three basins encased with panels in a similar hue takes centre stage. An ornate 1960s glass chandelier, sourced from the Czech Republic, is another focal point of the ground floor space. Tiered wall-mounted shelving laden with merchandise can be found on either side of the counter. Also to be found on the premises is a semi-secluded consultation area with its own sink and cabinets, and a beautifully crafted cupboard which presents Aesop‘s fragrance collection. Interestingly, the furnishing features handles made from copper salvaged from the original Fashion Walk store by craftsman Chris Li of Gold Steed Atelier. The new Aesop store stocks the brand’s full range face, body and hair care products, in addition to fragrances and home products.