Moscow boutique BLACKY DRESS Dmitry Ovcharov, Boris Voskoboinikov

Passing the gallery

A photo: Mikhail Stepanov

Text: Julia Shaginurova

Project author: Dmitry Ovcharov, Boris Voskoboinikov

Magazine: Nya (65) 2002

Hard lines, black and gray gamma, direct light. Dmitry Ovcharov and Boris Voskoboinikov, the authors of the interior of the Moscow boutique BLACKY DRESS (Petrovka St., 19), never for a moment flirt with the consumer of their architecture. Their task is to create an environment adequate to the prestigious brands JEAN PAUL and BLACKY DRESS, intended for a resident of the metropolis, which is cozy surrounded by stone walls, asphalt and fluorescent lamps. The shop occupies half of the former deli on Petrovka, leaving only the stucco on the ceiling from the old premises, finishing it with black and silver paint. The huge hall with high ceilings does not contain any extra details: high mirrors were hung on a cross-shaped column in the center of the room, mannequins were placed inside prisms of aluminum mesh. The space is marked by low windows, a massive table and transparent plastic chairs from Philippe Starck. By slightly changing the angle of the side walls, the architects enhanced the perspective. Thanks to this technique, the room seems to be drawing in the visitors, not allowing them to distract and turn away from the conditional route calculated for them by the architects. The back wall is lined with black plates, imitating travertine, a sharp light seeps through the thin gaps between them. Frosted glass, thin mesh frames in which mannequins are placed are in some way a hint at the search for identity, the main occupation of the reflective city dweller ... It would seem that, apart from the name, nothing makes the store brand with a touching little black dress Coco Chanel, except brilliant conciseness and knowledge of what your contemporaries really need.