The mere thought of a high-profile architect designing a shop for a well-known fashion designer raises the old question: Will the container dominate the contained—i.e., the clothes? After all, artists often complain about new architecturally splashy museums overwhelming exhibited works. Nevertheless, fashion seems to hold its own: In his Calvin Klein store in New York City, Minimalist architect John Pawson created a hushed, monumentally Modern citadel for sculpturally austere garments where both contents and surroundings meet in perfect accord. And despite Rem Koolhaas’s rowdy romp through two levels of the Prada store in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City, the interior’s theatrical design-as-destination encourages curious throngs to peruse the equally provocative jolie-laide items on display.....more
