Isay Weinfeld

Designer Paula Raia’s great wish was to bring together, at a single address, both the store and the couture workroom.
The existing building received renovations and the addition of new areas to fulfill the complex program.
The entrance hallway, with double-height ceiling, features a wall covered in several layers of fabrics with different textures that represent the concept of the garments sold at the store. This room has abundant natural lighting shining in from a domed skylight and the façade glass, allowing the existence of a beautiful tree planted in the garden on the lower floor. A rustic stone bench rounds out the intended informality of the ambience.
The hall leads to the store itself, consisting of merchandising areas, fitting rooms and the cashier. This space, in addition to bespoke racks of sinuous shapes in natural brass, overlooks a garden on the lower floor.
Above the fitting rooms and the cashier, there is a mezzanine housing the storage room and the evening gown designing team.
The prêt-a-porter designers are on the lower floor, in addition to the seamsters for in-store alterations and repairs, the pattern-cutting area , a small reception, restrooms and the staff canteen.
The outhouse – the only newly-built space – houses the creation room, with the designers and a fitting area.
The façade was also completely redesigned. The glasses are laminated with fabrics, lending certain transparency into the interior of the store, without overexposing it.
The color palettes used in this renovation – on walls, floor surfaces, carpets, drapes and furnishings – represent the color shade most used in the clothes made.