The Gentlest Monster
As of late, I have spent the last few weekends exploring Garosugil. Sinsa-dong has always been one of my favourite neighbourhoods in Seoul. It is full of chic boutiques, cafes, restaurants and galleries. It has delicious desserts, cool accessories, and high end brands dotted along the main road and all of the lovely winding side streets. I hadn't been in a while since I've started focusing on studies but I had forgotten what an amazing place it can be.
The Gentle Monster flagship store is located in a large glass fronted building right behind the main road...or so I thought...
When I was in the neighbourhood this past weekend we spotted a gallery-looking building which had formally been a chocolate store. The sign read Gentle Monster Parallel.
"That can't be right!" I say baffled... "Gentle Monster is further along the road on the other side". A tall handsome man in a black suit and a name tag caught my eye and said in perfect English, "Yes but this is our other concept store. It's new, why don't you come inside".
I was incredulous. "Our other concept store?!" How bloody brave is that?! To have two shops of the same brand exactly opposite each other on the of the most expensive streets in South Korea. Unthinkable.
But...they did it. And they pulled it off marvellously.
The new store, Gentle Monster Parallel is a wonderful gallery space which boasts new and limited edition designs available through three floors. There are no price tags so it's more like being at a sunglasses exhibition in an art gallery. Each floor was carefully curated with minimalist design, incredible lighting and mirrors playing with the size and space of each room. Each floor had different concepts, white sand and beech wood, moss covered rocks and shelves and shelves filled with the most creative designs you can imagine.
After this amazing experience we decided to see what's up with their regular store, since I hadn't been in there in almost a year.
The idea of concept stores are still really new and unique to me and also thoroughly impressive. The new theme in the flagship store included kinetic sculptures, naked trees and brightly coloured ceramics. Here, I got a glimpse of the new Tilda Swinton x Gentle Monster collaboration series as well as the Song of Style x Gentle Monster glasses.
This unique blend of craftsmanship, interior design and sheer artwork really sets Gentle Monster apart from any other accessory brand I've ever encountered. The creativity of it all guarantees their success on the international stage. Gentle Monster is here to stay and will definitely continue growing bigger and better with these phenomenal showroom concepts.
