At the Dongshankou area in Guangzhou, a rendezvous for stylish young people, an old Western-style house marked with the year “1931” magically resonated with the vintage DNA of MASONPRINCE as if under the influence of an irreversible universal power, and thus became the location of the brand’s first brick-and-mortar store.
TOMO Design worked with MASONPRINCE to bring new experiences through creating a narrative with an interrupted timeline, incorporating a design language that “transcends the present”, and building a work scenario of “MP Studio” in the space. With an avant-garde perspective and via a unique medium, the design creates a dialogue between the past and the future. It connects the brand’s classless concept with the space, brings out unbounded dynamics and showcases a multi-dimensional time-space realm of the MASONPRINCE universe.
A green gradient transparent glass acts as a boundary that seems to separate the store from “the present”, but also builds up a connection between them. The blurred boundary creates a middle field in between reality and the fictional world. The story starts from a bus station where the order of time is lost. A series of MASONPRINCE posters, presented in the form of a bus station advertisement, unveils the core narrative of the time travel and marks the beginning of a journey that “transcends the present”.
As the visitors enter the store, the timeline reverses from the present to the future of 2231. Here the visitors will be greeted by a super human known as “MP.01”. As the present and the future overlap, the space is infused with a sense of conflicts between different substances.
Inscribed with the logo of MASONPRINCE, the metal glitters with a futuristic sense found in science fiction, covering the old walls that belong to the present. A weird humanoid figure from the future sits behind a modern office desk. The well-selected items of MASONPRINCE are displayed here, arranged in rows stretching deep into the space under the dim, yellow light.
Videos about MASONPRINCE are played on a screen, which is like a time mailbox that delivers fashion packages to time travelers who visit the store. The interplay between the future and the present within the space and the contrasts it creates bring a unique experience to the visitors.
The fitting room and the accessory room are subtly envisioned as “elevator” and “elevator hall”. The bathroom is designed as “filing cabinets” in the time archive room. The “vintage office” turns into a special existence in the creation ground of MASONPRINCE. The interrupted timeline and blurred boundaries between the present and the future offer an anchor that extends beyond the dimension of time, providing the ultimate way to interpret the functions of different areas within the space.
The textural comparison between “present” and “future”, the collision between functions and scenarios, and the connection of spaces, produce unique aesthetics exclusive to MP, which stimulates visitors’ curiosity and desire for exploration. The staircase, marking a leap in time and space, is in between one rustic wall and one shiny wall, implying the dialogue between the past and present in the next journey.
The distressed tabletop is finely polished, whilst telling the story of time. The retro wooden wardrobe displays accessories. A formal office accommodates a bathtub. With no limitations, the space is full of imagination, where absurdity and surprises are so natural here.
Vintage items, such as a printer, a computer and a first-generation mobile phone on a retro desk, are brought into the space. Those elements bring people back to the past, and make time seem to slow down here. “MP Studio” turns into a clothing workshop in the 1930s here. The linear show stands resemble old-fashioned assembly lines, while their smooth modern surfaces are a constant reminder of the present.
Next to the workshop, the reception room is illuminated by the flickering “firelight”, which brings a touch of vitality into a vintage ambience. Ubiquitous contrasts and shocks create an experience beyond reality and bring the storyline to its climax. TOMO Design created multiple integrations through super-dimensional imagination, the spatial narrative and the consideration into the site’s context, explored the balance between brand and people, people and space, space and brand, and produced a super offline experience field exclusive to MASONPRINCE.
Project Information: Project Name: MASONPRINCE; Client: MASONPRINCE; Location: Guangzhou, China; Area: 500 sq m; Completion Time: 2023; Design Studio: TOMO DESIGN, TO ACC;
