Deconstruct this: San Francisco’s storied Maiden Lane is now home to Maison Margiela‘s first Bay Area boutique. This week, the famed street—home to the flagships of a number of French and Italian fashion houses—just added a new tenant previously known for seeking out the most hidden and off-the-beaten-path locations. The house founded by Belgian designer Martin Margiela, and now helmed by John Galliano, holds the keys to a 2,900-square-foot two-story shop that has interiors rife with the line’s signature dégradé and tromp l’oeil techniques. After all, this is the maison that invented self-referential fashion, so meta doors and meta ceilings are standard issue. The ground floor, dedicated to men’s ready-to-wear, leather goods, accessories and footwear, has wooden parquet floors, faux ceilings and chrome fixtures inspired by scaffolding. Digital images of the Paris maison are gradually reconstructed throughout the boutique, furthering the notion of the idea of a shop referenced inside another shop. Leather-wrapped handrails, inspired by the Bay Area’s famed bicycle culture and unique to the Maiden Lane location, escort shoppers up a black-and-white Persian tromp l’oeil-carpeted staircase to the women’s salon. Designed after a French bistro, the women’s floor has traditional, cast iron tables serving as a la carte jewelry displays. A surrealist sofa inspired by Salvador Dalí sits inside the shoe salon where those looking to leave a higher fashion footprint can try on a Tabi split toe ankle boot which (of course) references the foot. So while the shop’s location heralds a new era at Margiela, the space’s interiors pay homage to its founder. Don a white lab coat—following the custom of Margiela staffers—and step inside this new cabinet of curiosities.

By Jennifer McCullum

 

Pictured: The interiors of the new Maison Margiela boutique in San Francisco.
Photo by: Drew Altizer

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