Paris-based Haute couturier Djaba Diassamidze has a new lifestyle concept store, Darial, in Barcelona’s Eixample neighbourhood.
Called Darial, the 1,500-square-metre lifestyle store takes over the ground floor and basement of Casa Tomàs Roger, a 19th-century building in the city's Dreta de l'Eixample neighbourhood. It sells an evolving selection of clothing, books, art, furniture and design objects by hundreds of different brands, and also boasts a brasserie-style restaurant and event space.
The palatial interior encompasses stark and monochrome surfaces embellished with ornate features. Palm tree-shaped gold columns are dotted throughout the experiential store, their fronds splayed across the ceiling; such details make the minimalist retail area feel maximal in terms of personality and vision.
Ivory-coloured carpets and marble tiles are used on the floors to create a sharp contrast with opulent black furnishings that decoratte the space, including pieces by Muller van Severen, Impossible Project, Lomography and Bang & Olufsen. Certain features in the store, like the grandiose arched doorways, are Diassamidze's attempt to reference art-deco-style decor. The folding screens are also meant to nod to the store's name, Darial, which means gate in old Persian.
