Barber blueprint for Apricot store renewal

Barber Design has created a new retail concept for fashion store Apricot, which opens its new flagship store at Westfield White City this week.

The store is the eighth standalone Apricot branch and will provide a template for at least two more spaces, set to open in the next year.

Barber Design was approached by the company in September, according to Justin Langshaw, head of 3D at the consultancy. He says, ’It wanted a reinvigorated concept, closer to brands like New Look and Dorothy Perkins.’

Challenged by ’a vast product range which is not updated seasonally, but constantly changes’, Langshaw says, ’We tried to add texture to the brand language.’

The store formerly sold a men’s range, but now only deals in women’s clothing. This gave Barber Design the freedom to tailor the design to a more focused customer base, according to Apricot director Sophia Ciampa.

Referencing the Apricot colour in the name and identity, an orange and grey colour palette has been applied, alongside the introduction of wood textures against white and cream, and changing rooms with textured wallpaper. Colour blocking is used to display stock, says Langshaw, who has mainly left a ’clean, clear merchandising space’.

Colours and materials in the design have been inspired by the idea of Apricot as a ’moniker with natural implications’, says Langshaw.

A glowing apricot-coloured ’O’ has been integrated into the ceiling. In previous designs these were freestanding on shopfloors and interfered with colour blocking, Ciampa says.

The design may also be applied to the existing seven Apricot stores, with the exception of the Bath and Bristol outlets, which feature design concepts by Camouflage, according to Ciampa.