We were approached by the client to design their new jewellery store at the prestigious redevelopment of Westfield Shopping Centre at Doncaster, Victoria. Having designed their previous store, the client felt comfortable in letting us design his store to be innovative and contemporary. Westfield’s design brief for the redevelopment was very stringent.

With the client’s acceptance we decided to break many of the rules of designing a jewellery store. One of the strange realizations during the project was that even though the majority of clientele who buy jewellery are women, jewellery stores can look decidedly masculine – heavy, bright and hard surfaced.

In Chic As, the challenge was to create a sense of feminine mystique. The store is lit to highlight the jewellery but not be lit up like a 7Eleven. Ambience was very important. A sense of lightness was achieved by creating display cases that were manufactured predominantly from glass and hovered gently at the customers eye level. Mirror finishes and sheer shimmering curtains create an interesting play of light and shadow, and a play of dimensions.

The most surprising thing is to stand in front of the store and watch people walk past, hesitate, and take a closer look. By using a special film to the shopfront glazing, the inside of the shop literally disappears from view save for the highlighted shopfront jewellery as one walks past. Nothing in this store is what it seems at face value. You are invited to explore the mystery which is woman.