Dezeen Magazine

Olaf Hussein's The Fitting Room store has a Modernism-influenced interior

Black-stained wooden surfaces are paired with herringbone floors inside Olaf Hussein's first store, intended to embody the "timeless design of the Modernism movement" (+ slideshow).

Originally established as an online brand, menswear label Olaf Hussein's first physical shop is called the The Fitting Room, and is located in Amsterdam.

The Fitting Room by Olaf Hussein

Aiming to give online costumers a chance to physically interact with the brand and the products, the team at Olaf Hussein created a space to reflective of their design principles.

The Fitting Room by Olaf Hussein

"We're a small team that designs everything for the brand – from the clothing, to the labels, from website to packaging," art director Daniël Sumarna told Dezeen.

"So the goal here was to translate the same brand aesthetic into an interior, integrating our fascination for Modernism without losing the integrity of the brand."

The Fitting Room by Olaf Hussein

"We magically found this beautiful space on the ground level of a former early 17th century warehouse," added Sumarna, who was in charge of the interior design.

"Its 38-square-metre surface inspired us to give the store a clear purpose and role in our brand's architecture, which led to the idea of The Fitting Room."

The Fitting Room by Olaf Hussein

Existing wooden ceiling beams, herringbone flooring, plants and comfortable furniture are all intended to give the store the feeling of a living room.

The Fitting Room by Olaf Hussein

Black-painted plant pots, along with black-stained wood panels used to make up a clothing rack and fitting room partitions, were added to reference the brand's monochrome identity.

To help balance the black elements, the sides the wooden panels were left exposed.

The Fitting Room by Olaf Hussein

"The only two custom-made things are the clothing rack and the fitting room itself," said Sumarna. "Black is obviously one of the primary colours of our brand so we went with black stained wood, which allows you to see the grain."

"Black comes back in the details, even the plant pots are painted black to make sure they're on-brand," he added.

The Fitting Room by Olaf Hussein

Furniture pieces used throughout the store include black stools by Charles Eames, an executive armchair by Eero Saarinen upholstered in cognac leather, and a vintage lounge chair and table.

Olaf Hussein was established by its namesake designer in Amsterdam, originally as a menswear denim label.

The Fitting Room by Olaf Hussein

As the brand's collection is currently relatively small, the majority of items will be on sale at The Fitting Room. But as the range grows, it will become a more curated selection.

Also in Amsterdam, Studio Jos van Dijk transformed a canalside shop into a multi-brand store for footwear label ETQ, adding a sneaker-lined wall, white metal display cages and heavy concrete furniture.