Tears Of clothing store

The "Tears Of" clothing store is on the ground floor of a residential building, at: Bolshaya Nikitskaya 49, area 55 sq. m. Year of completion: 2024.

Project authors: roomdesignburo / Anton Lysko, Anastasia Zaytseva

About the project

This building previously housed another clothing store, but we decided to change the concept completely. The old interior had nothing in common with our client's new needs, so a complete strip-out was carried out. We did not just rebuild the walls — we created a new space.

One of the main assets of this building is its impressive entrance. Back in the eighties a concept was designed in which shops, banks and post offices occupied the ground floors. A large, prominent entrance was provided from the outset, which made our task somewhat easier. And yet we did not stop there: the entrance area was transformed further and is now styled as a retro American cinema. This creates a unique atmosphere that draws attention and immerses customers in a world of nostalgia.

In developing the concept we drew on American architecture and design of the 1950s and interiors of the 1970s-1980s, perhaps a little of the 1960s, including Soviet aesthetics, natural wood textures, marble and ceramics. We wanted to create the cosiest possible interior, one you do not want to leave. Not just like a clothing store, but like a place where you can spend time, sit down and relax. There is not only clothing there but also books, vinyl, small collectible cars and other things that create the atmosphere. People from the neighbouring buildings come here for coffee, and many residents of this building drop in in the morning to sit, have a coffee and eat a bun.

Main materials

Our main base material is oak veneer, from which almost everything is made: furniture, shelves, walls. There is mosaic on the floor, and mosaic also appears in the finish of the furniture. The main room has a coffered wooden ceiling painted white.

To fill the space we had to spend a lot of time on "Avito", where we managed to find red Vitra chairs and a B&B Italia sofa. The Louis Poulsen lamp and the Overman and Avarte chairs were ordered from the St Petersburg project Licalla, while all the shop fittings, the DJ booth, the tables and the side tables were made to order from the architects' sketches.

An interesting story

Cobblestone or mosaic was originally planned for the entrance area, I no longer remember which, but it was out of stock. We went to the supplier's warehouse to see what was available. We photographed everything, filmed a video with commentary and, just for fun, added a video of bin bags containing marble offcuts. Nikolay (the client) did not, of course, take the easy route: he said we should take the offcuts and lay the entrance area with them.

That is how the floor was born that delights everyone. There was, of course, a whole quest in asking him to sell it to us, then collecting it, sorting it and laying it, but it was all worth it.