Domesticated Earth – Camilla and Marc Armadale by Akin Atelier

Words by Sam Manchester
Interior Design by Akin Atelier
Landscape Design Myles Baldwin

Akin Atelier’s latest retail store for Camilla and Marc takes form as a series of soft, earth-tone spaces – evoking both cavern and haven.

In what once was a terrace house on the main street in Armadale, in Melbourne’s inner south-east, now resides a journey of considered spaces. Rough and raw materials are given a new sense of place, becoming polished emblems of effortless natural beauty.Entering the store, customers are immersed in a roomcrafted from striking elemental materials of peach and blush hues. The space beckons one in, as the eye is drawn through the three successive rooms,a canyon of two-tone travertine floors and marmorino render walls in custom colours. These four sequential ‘living spaces’ are separated geometrically with singular steps that create a physical sense of transition.

The space beckons one in, as the eye is drawn through the three successive rooms, a canyon of two-tone travertine floors and marmorino render walls in custom colours.

Contrasting industrial steel hanging rails create narrative lines along the walls. A rear skylight and large rectangular windows expand the aperture of the store with waves of daylight – in keeping with Camilla and Marc’s long-held value that their garments be viewed in natural light. A one-off Pearl Wave Onyx-clad counter stands as sentinel, leading to the nextroom.

The second and third rooms are laid with custom grey oiled European oak floorboards in a herringbone pattern that imbue the spaces with a romantic classicism. The second contains the fitting rooms, cordoned off with Kvdarat Raf Simons Helia Boucle curtains in a pumpkin shade. Smooth pastel walls wrap in soft curves, with sparing light fixtures and mirrors which nod to practicality. A travertine plinth stands in the midst of the rooms, serving as an accessories display.

The elegance of the store comes to its conclusion in a domesticated breath of natural space, as if once again becoming the terrace it was, a sophisticated canyon of retail fashion remembering its roots.

The store finally weaves to the rear courtyard – designed by Myles Baldwin – which hems it in with a natural moment of repose. The elegance of the store comes to its conclusion in a domesticated breath of natural space, as if once again becoming the terrace it was, a sophisticated canyon of retail fashion remembering its roots.

The angular prisms of polished stone are harmonised with calm interior curves, and each element is tied together with a palette reminiscent of Australia’s distinct and rural red earth. This is the tenth Camilla & Marc store, and the eighth designed by long-time collaborator Kelvin Ho of Akin Atelier, who have once more created not just a space for retail, but a home address for Camilla and Marc.