Space, light and emotion

Fashion is a sector that goes beyond primary needs, offering individuals the raw materials they require to rapidly create a recognisable sociocultural identity and define their social role. This is particularly important in situations involving interpersonal relationships, such as workplaces and leisure spaces — contexts in which people must not only be present but must also demonstrate that they conform to the spirit of the times. The aesthetic quality of eyewear retail spaces is rapidly becoming an urban-scale extension of communication in an increasingly design-focused sector.
As an exclusive sales location, the traditional store no longer exists. Although it hasn’t entirely vanished, it has experienced a kind of genetic mutation in recent years. This is particularly true in the case of large cities such as Milan, the capital of the fashion design world, where showrooms have established new trends and adopted an innovative sales philosophy based on sensorial perception and an interplay between the languages of art and the market.
Fashion accessories come in countless stylistic variations, so the dedicated retail spaces must be designed accordingly. Rather than empty receptacles to be filled with the objects of desire, they have become integrated structures in a project to create interiors with their own language, event-locations designed to fuel the hedonistic desires of people who enjoy being at the centre of attention. Eyewear has become a kind of multifunctional prosthesis or stage accessory that has developed in two opposing directions: on the one hand towards immateriality, achieved through the use of frames that are so transparent as to appear non-existent; on the other by creating microstructures that are so distinctive as to become a kind of mask.
Through an effective use of transparency and luminosity, Ottica 331 has become a living space, a pathway in an urban interior that combines social interaction with purchasing opportunity. Minimalist, but without taking formal simplicity to excess, the showroom conveys a kind of subliminal message, projecting itself as an art gallery for uncompromising designer eyewear. This atmosphere is repeated in all the brand stores through the use of a classic yet contemporary surface covering material, Travertino tile from ImolaCeramica.
The splendid porcelain surface serves as a backdrop to the interior design based on colour, dark/light contrasts and the use of light, as in the case of the multi-lobed pendant lamps and the large laser-perforated column which creates evocative forms reminiscent of the work of the cubist/surrealist painter Hans Arp.