Laboratorio.Quattro, a Milan-based architecture and design studio, developed a retail concept for O bag based on modularity, display flexibility and continuity between interior and exterior. The project grew out of the studio’s experience in product design, progressively transferring the same design principles to the scale of the retail environment.
After designing some of the brand’s most recognisable accessories, Laboratorio.Quattro was also commissioned to develop its stores, creating layouts and display systems capable of translating into space the same principles of modularity that characterise the products.
A modular system for O bag retail
The concept is based on modules produced in series by craftsmen and designed to be combined and adapted to different retail locations. The aim is to create a system that ensures a recognisable brand identity while providing flexibility in the organisation of the space.
The store is therefore approached according to the same logic applied to the product: the elements are modular, interchangeable and configurable according to the dimensions and characteristics of each location.
The display system becomes an integral part of O bag’s identity. Equipped walls, freestanding modules and structures dedicated to bags and accessories establish a consistent design language that can be replicated in different contexts while retaining its recognisable character.
The store as an extension of the street
Alongside modularity, one of the most distinctive aspects of the concept is the direct relationship between interior and exterior. O bag stores move away from the traditional separation created by the shop window, opening the retail space more directly towards the street.
The entrance consequently becomes part of the display composition, allowing the interior to be perceived immediately from outside. Rather than being conceived as an enclosed environment behind a shop window, the store becomes a visual extension of the urban space.
This continuity also reinforces the legibility of the display system: modules, products and the brand’s colours are already visible from outside and contribute to the composition of the retail façade.
From fashion to other retail formats
Laboratorio.Quattro’s work in retail extends beyond O bag. As early as 2007, the studio collaborated with Benetton on the redesign of several stores in Russia, working on existing façades or developing new ones.
Other collaborations included Cierresse and a number of commercial venues, among them Moscatelli on Corso Garibaldi in Milan, involving both renovation and new design interventions.
The studio’s approach therefore focuses on translating brand identity, modularity and flexibility into different retail formats, developing systems capable of adapting to different contexts and international markets.
Design: Laboratorio.Quattro
by AN Shopfitting Magazine no.152 ©