David Thulstrup designed the first flagship boutique for Danish fashion designer Mark Kenly Domino Tan in Copenhagen, creating a refined retail interior where the character of the early 20th-century building meets a restrained palette of materials and contemporary architectural interventions.
Conceived as a neutral framework for Mark Kenly Domino Tan’s minimalist, classic and feminine collections, the boutique combines the existing architecture with a limited number of distinctive elements. Rather than concealing the irregularities of the original space, Thulstrup retained features such as the worn wooden floors and introduced new volumes and surfaces that establish a measured dialogue between old and new.
A contemporary framework within the existing architecture
One of the main interventions is a series of rectangular panels with granular surfaces in a parchment tone, visibly detached from the soft grey walls. Positioned behind the clothing racks, these elements frame the collections while allowing the architecture to remain deliberately understated.
At the rear of the boutique, a wall composed of 100 large square glass blocks introduces another strong architectural gesture. Their rippled surface filters natural light into the interior while creating a translucent, almost monolithic backdrop for the fashion displays.
Materiality and minimal retail displays
The material approach reflects the importance that Mark Kenly Domino Tan places on fabrics and textures within his collections. Thulstrup translates this sensibility into the interior through contrasting tactile surfaces and a deliberately restrained display system.
Freestanding metal clothing racks have a minimal profile, keeping the ready-to-wear collections visually prominent. At the centre of the boutique, a large display table in bird’s-eye birch veneer accommodates accessories, books and objects selected to complement the fashion collections.
The restrained retail displays and carefully selected materials allow the products to remain the visual focus while giving the boutique a distinct architectural identity.
An intimate and welcoming customer experience
Towards the rear of the store, Thulstrup introduced a daybed upholstered in soft white bouclé, adding a more domestic and relaxed dimension to the retail environment. The element supports the designer’s intention to make the boutique welcoming and informal despite the refined character of the collections and the bespoke atelier service offered by the brand.
Through a limited palette, tactile materials and precisely positioned architectural elements, the flagship establishes a quiet relationship between fashion and interior design. The existing character of the Copenhagen building remains perceptible, while the new interventions provide a contemporary setting for Mark Kenly Domino Tan’s collections.
Mark Kenly Domino Tan Flagship Boutique
Location Store Strandstræde 9, Copenhagen
Architect David Thulstrup
Photo credit: Irina Boersma