Balenciaga has joined the retail fray in Austin.
On Wednesday, the luxury house opened its first freestanding store in the city’s mixed-use metropolitan center, The Domain.
The 6,137-square-foot space offers men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, shoes, bags, accessories, eyewear and jewelry.
Like the last several stores the company has opened, the Austin unit features the brand’s experiential Raw Architecture concept, which is intended to be reminiscent of construction sites and abandoned spaces. It is built using existing elements, resulting in fewer raw materials, a move that keeps with Balenciaga’s commitment to sustainability.
But in a nod to its location, the store’s street-corner facade, composed of glass, porcelain and quartz, is intended to speak to its Southwestern home. Inside, the sand and stone that is found in the Austin area is referenced in the gray tones that mark the surfaces in the store. Brushed slab and poured concrete are embedded with carpet in places, while intentionally left bare in others. Walls and partitions are covered in patinated concrete panels, hot rolled steel showing flame licks, or smoked glass.
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An open ceiling shows ceiling grids, lighting systems, and other technical fixtures overhead while aged steel tables and hanging pipe racks are used to simulate an industrial space.
There are also high-definition screens, focused lighting, leather seating and a street-facing lightbox.
Last week, Balenciaga opened a 10,000-square-foot store in Shanghai’s HKRI Taikoo Hui shopping mall, its largest in China, where it operates 54 stores.
In the U.S., the company opened a U.S. flagship on Greene Street in SoHo in early September.
In Austin, Balenciaga joins Dior, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent, Versace, The Webster and Tiffany in the Domain.
