Mathieu Lehanneur snakes metal rails through Maison Kitsuné boutique in New York

Iridescent metal pipes form display railings at the New York flagship store of Paris-based fashion and music label Maison Kitsuné.

French designer Mathieu Lehanneur created the store interior inside a brownstone building at 248 Lafayette Street in Soho, after the brand moved from its location close to Madison Square Park.

The new 1,400-square-foot space showcases and sells items from cult-favourite Maison Kitsuné, which produces both apparel and music.

Sharing a love of both cultural aspects, founders Gildas Loaëc, Masaya Kuroki and London-based design company Åbäke set up the brand in Paris in 2002.

“The story of Maison Kitsuné is a story of links: the links between France and Japan and those between fashion and music,” said Lehanneur.

“Maison Kitsuné’s new flagship store in New York materialises these connections throughout the space.”

His design revolves around a series of iridescent and reflective metallic tubes, which snake around the store to form garment rails, furniture stands and lighting fixtures.

The bichromated steel pipes curve around the white-painted room, reaching up to the high ceilings, and disappearing into heavy cylindrical blocks and textured concrete floor.

Lehanneur described the installation as a “magic pencil, drawing its own line within the space”.

Mirrors cover a full wall at the back of the store, while wood panels feature sections of opaque film between their frames that create the illusion of a lush courtyard outside.

During his career, Lehanneur has created a variety of interiors, electronic products, lighting designs and sculptural art pieces.

For a recent series of objects, he carved marble surfaces to look like rippling water frozen in time, while last year he renovated a cafe inside the Louvre museum in Paris.

Read more

• Interiors