Gwenael Nicolas works on spaces for both high-end brands and fast fashion. He says that controlling time is crucial for "encounters" in fashion. This is an extended interview with Gwenael Nicolas, who began his design career in Tokyo about 25 years ago. Following on from part 1/2, we ask him about his design philosophy.


--What is the biggest difference between designing spaces for Uniqlo and Louis Vuitton?

For Uniqlo, the interior design requires customers to connect with the product within 0.5 seconds. It's important for them to make a purchasing decision at that stage. Louis Vuitton is different. The time it takes for customers to encounter the product is crucial. Customers don't need to come into contact with the product immediately after entering the store. We create layers to control depth and speed, slowly building up key points. The designer's job is to control speed. Is this project high-speed or low-speed? There's no middle ground. Is it a product you want to sell quickly, or a product that sells slowly? A product that everyone recognizes as good doesn't need to sell quickly; it can be sold over time. If you don't buy fast fashion today, it will be a different product tomorrow. But with luxury brands, you see them in magazines, visit a store, and are given a wide range of information you didn't know before. It's necessary to be "hesitant" and "influenced." That's what's important in spatial design.

--What led you to design the Louis Vuitton store on Namiki-dori in Ginza?

It all started with a request for a salon project featuring a new concept for watches. It all started after I had previously worked on the design for the LVMH Group's Tag Heuer store in Omotesando. We were asked to renovate a corner of the Namiki-dori store floor into a new salon for the watches. When we came up with the new concept, I checked the space next to the salon and the overall design. It's something I always do when I'm involved in design, but I didn't just design the space I was commissioned to design; I made proposals for the entire floor, the staircase location, the first-floor entrance, and the facade. They only asked for a watch section, so they were a bit skeptical, but I presented it directly to Yves Carcel, then Chairman and CEO of the Louis Vuitton Group, and we ended up doing a complete redesign.

--For the Namiki-dori store, you expanded the facade and entrance, and even changed the position of the central staircase, right?

I think it's best to voice any concerns you have about a project from the start. Each interior designer has their own clear rules. If a plan doesn't seem to work well, based on factors like people's movements or feng shui, you need to reset it.

--Do you take feng shui into consideration?

Feng shui is very important. Our office (my) has excellent feng shui. The first job I did was renovating the Pleats Please store in Saint-Germain, Paris. The store had a wall in front of the windows, which was disrupting the flow of energy. Perhaps because of this, the retractable wall fixtures were constantly causing problems, so we first removed the wall and redesigned it to make the most of the windows. Natural energy is important. Doors should be on the left side, and the location of stairs is determined by foot movement. Otherwise, the store won't run smoothly. It's not a mental thing, it's natural energy.

--Is that way of thinking Japanese?

My first job in Japan was a store design job commissioned by Issey Miyake. I'd never worked at a design firm, so I looked around at various stores and studied which ones gave off a good vibe. I studied interior design in France, but I'd never actually built a store, so I learned on the job. If I thought the lighting was good, I'd take a photo of it in the store and research the manufacturer. As I researched what felt comfortable to me, I gradually developed my own rules for store design.

--Could you tell me a little more about your design rules?

Musician Ryuichi Sakamoto once said that when composing music for a film, it's important to find three key sounds. I think he said that once those three sounds are decided, you can freely develop a piece, from short to long, based on them. In design, it's the same as an icon. Whether it's Lacoste, Louis Vuitton, or Uniqlo, it's important to find those three notes. Finding and developing three chords is the same for interior design, music, and perfume.

We design with an eye toward connecting the real world with the virtual world

--Fashion media has become increasingly fast-paced with the spread of the web. Has the web influenced your work?

My work has changed dramatically from five or ten years ago. It goes without saying, but store design is a real-world design—how the products look and what kind of experience the customer will have. However, we design these real spaces and create icons with an eye toward connecting them to the virtual world. A section of the Fendi store, the first of the new concept stores to open at Galeries Lafayette in Paris, was created entirely for the media. Just one hour after opening, photos taken on that wall were being shared around the world. This is because the design was based on this assumption from the start.

--Do you design with the internet in mind?

I create visuals with a complete picture of where and how they will be used in magazines, movies, and on the web. I have three basic shots, including icons, decided in my mind. Luxury brands have recently begun to use store spaces for product photography. Previously, advertising design, interior design, and product design were separate, but now we live in an age where these must be mixed together in design. I've always loved advertising. I get my brand's message from the latest ads and videos. When I was a student, I loved British 20-second and 60-second ads. When I start a brand meeting with someone, I don't feel anything even if I'm given an interior brief. The key is to have a theme that can be conveyed in an instant. I want to work with people who can make that judgment, and it's important to have someone like that. Fashion brands often have a single designer or manager making all the decisions. I enjoy working with people who can make that judgment.


■Interview & text: Noda Tatsuya

--Next time (3/4), we'll hear about Japanese design and the city of Tokyo.