J1M5 is a dynamic buying shop brand that embraces the exploration and sharing of the latest fashion trends, while promoting travel, art, and an elegant lifestyle.
What is a Buying Shop?
Originating in Europe, buying shops are curated by highly aesthetic buyers who, based on the distinct fashion sensibilities and tastes of their target audience, travel the world with their suitcases. They select fashion items, accessories, and other products that align with the brand’s vision, integrating diverse cultural, fashion, and popular elements from various countries into a single shop.
Wanshe Design embraces the concept of “luggage,” blending the mobility and freedom of travel with the historical roots of buying shops. This approach creates a unique expression that balances rational logic and artistic sensibility through elements such as planes, flow, color, and spatial experience.
Moving Structures
Versatile Space
Reflecting the buying shop concept, multiple suitcases represent the fusion of different brands, and various boxes create a unique architectural language within the space. The core design goal is to allow the spatial structure to move flexibly—like a suitcase—enabling the layout to change dynamically at any moment.
After thorough design consideration, the cabinets themselves can rotate 360 degrees horizontally, akin to a suitcase. This elevates the variability from individual structures to a matrix-like transformation of the entire space. Each configuration offers a fresh appearance and visual experience.
The four display windows at the entrance can be freely arranged and combined in various ways.
The mirrored area at the back of the space creates an immersive experience, evoking the feeling of being surrounded by towering buildings and lost within an infinite spatial sequence.
Flexible Space
Form Follows Function
The space structure can be altered at any time—sometimes filled with columns, sometimes open—challenging traditional expectations of retail spaces. This disruptive approach combines practical functionality with a highly personalized design concept, embodying the unique attitude of J1M5.
01 Display Method: Cabinets Closed
Structural Aesthetics — Space Filled with Columns
Stainless steel clothes hangers are installed on both sides of the cabinet to maximize display area, while the cabinet interior serves as efficient storage, perfectly balancing display and functionality.
02 Display Method: Cabinets Opened
Practicality First — Maximizing Wardrobe Space
The cabinet interior accommodates bags, clothing, and shoes displayed as complete sets, enabling customers to select items intuitively and conveniently.
03 Display Method: Mixed Cabinet Use
Flexible Usage
When multiple cabinets are combined, various display modes can be switched to suit brand operations. Each cabinet can function as a single-brand display or an independent showcase.
A Prototype with Endless Possibilities
A Versatile Suitcase
Inspired by a box prototype, the design extends to multiple usage modes to fulfill various functions. It can serve as a pillar, bracket, wardrobe, fitting room, or even a showcase.
Everyday Display Mode
The columns are neatly arranged throughout the space, attracting customers with their distinct spatial character as they wander among them, showcasing branded clothing.
Show Mode
By moving the columns in all directions, a surrounding formation is created. Adjusting their positions enables the formation of different runway paths and spatial structures to accommodate various brand runway displays.
Event Mode
The columns can be shifted to the sides and combined into a large open matrix, maximizing open space for events such as pop-ups and small brand launches.
Details Everywhere
Other functional areas are uniquely designed to serve daily needs such as clothing photoshoots. The interplay of details, materials, functions, and space, driven by Wanshe’s ongoing research and dedication, delivers a distinctive attitude that fundamentally reinterprets the business format.
Jewelry Display Window
The space facing the entrance is dedicated to brand and jewelry handbag displays. The integration of LED screens is a standout feature, allowing dynamic background changes during brand presentations.
Leisure and Exhibition Area
The sloping wall at the entrance forms a leisure and exhibition area suitable for displaying fragrances, artworks, and more. This multifaceted, dreamlike space is illuminated by hazy ceiling lights, evoking a parallel world between dreams and reality.
Beneath the ceiling’s structural aesthetic and orderly sequence lies a complex network of systems including lighting, fire protection, air conditioning, and cabinet movement tracks, all seamlessly unified. The soft, reflective moonlight casts a gentle glow on the wave-like mirrored surfaces, blending stillness and elegance.
Cashier
The service desk blends seamlessly into the expansive gray textured wall, with the contrast of warm and cool lighting softening boundaries and enhancing spatial perception, creating a simple yet sophisticated atmosphere.
VIP Dressing Room
The hidden VIP dressing room offers a stark contrast to the main store environment, featuring a warm yellow-toned space with exquisite lighting that accentuates the architectural lines, creating a comfortable, soft, and elegant ambiance.
Wanshe’s Consistent Vision
Aesthetics, Creativity, Attitude, Flexibility
Wanshe Design distills the essence of retail business formats, transforming design perspectives to break away from traditional display methods. It pioneers innovative possibilities for the future of brand stores by integrating spatial aesthetics, structure, function, and personality. This comprehensive approach redefines the conventional retail store model, establishing a versatile spatial structure system for buying shops.
Through logical design thinking, complex functional systems and multi-layered details are seamlessly integrated, creating a cohesive design language. This harmony balances brand identity, functionality, space, art, and urban life.
Project Information
Project Name: J1M5 Buying Shop
Location: Hisense Plaza, Qingdao
Status: Completed in October 2020
Design Firm: Wanshe Design
Lead Designers: Yang Dongzi, Lin Qianyi
Design Team: Huang Bo, Jiang Meiyu
Photography: Shao Feng (Mortise and Tenon Architectural Photography)
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