Blanca Studio, The Galeries

A calm, cyclorama of space to inspire personal style.

Blanca Studio has opened its flagship store, located in The Galeries, Sydney. The narrow, 16m² space forms a confident backdrop to the versatile, colourful and vintage-inspired silhouettes Blanca is celebrated for.

Inspired by similarly narrow gallery spaces such as Steven Holl’s Storefront for Art and Architecture, oblique walls are used to engage the peripheral vision and to create flow into and around the space. Existing centre stacking doors were retained to shift products into the foreground and to create movement within the pocket-sized space.

Showcasing a curated selection of jewellery from Reliquia Collective, the future heirlooms are displayed in glossy, gallery-like displays lined in sophisticated, sky blue velvet.

A hidden, circlet of space was created for trying on garments, cocooned in a soft drape, chenille fabric. It’s determinedly private from the main thoroughfare of The Galeries, a serene detour in the chaos of the city lunch rush.

The Hotaru Double Bubble Pendant, designed by Barber & Osgerby, sits above the custom timber counter. The paper lantern transforms light into a warm and welcoming zone for connection with staff, an important element of retailing in bricks and mortar and unique to the in person experience which allows you to shop with all your senses. The timber counter is also set on an angle to encourage milling around as you would at home.

Blackbutt timber, endemic to the east coast, is used throughout to evoke a sense of home and relaxation unique to the Australian context.

Rounded edges and details throughout are soft and calming. It's no coincidence in a post-pandemic world that we are seeking out bold, soft and curvaceous forms that envelope us and reflect a liberated female form.

We chose to think about the ‘itinerary’ of the space, an idea coined by Le Corbusier in reference to his houses. It involves walking to perceive the space through movement and at each small moment there is some joy to be found within the new Blanca store.

The Blanca store is located on the traditional lands of the Gadigal people.