Ukrainian designer Anastasiia Tempynska referenced the curves of the human body and the geometry of brutalist architecture when creating the interior for this erotic clothing store in Kyiv, Ukraine.
The showroom for erotic fashion brand Anoeses is located on the lower-ground floor of a historic building on Antonovycha Street, which is home to several designer boutiques.
The brand, which gained recognition after being worn by Madonna and actress Julia Fox, asked Tempynska to create a suitable environment for displaying its range of clothing and accessories.
“The clients wanted to create an emotionally safe and intimate space,” the designer explained. “The concept is built around concrete, metal, an achromatic colour palette, raw textures and refined silhouettes.”
The showroom comprises three main spaces – the first displaying corsets and clothing on open shelves, and the second presenting racks of latex garments and leather accessories.
A fitting area based on the shape of corsets is positioned towards the rear of the store, alongside a winter garden featuring a leather swing.
Rounded shapes referencing the human body feature across several of the store’s architectural elements, as well as finding a more literal embodiment in the form of a sculptural female figure on a cylindrical plinth.
The curved forms contrast with angular and pointed details that serve as a “visual metaphor for the complexity of human emotion and erotic desire”, according to Tempynska.
Further inspiration for the project came from a trip to Switzerland, where the designer was impressed by examples of brutalist buildings and the pared-back projects of architect Peter Zumthor.
“I think that’s why you can see echoes in the Anoeses space of the austere brutalism of museums, the dynamic energy of contemporary galleries and the influence of Zumthor’s architecture,” she said.
Many of these recurring motifs are evident in the first space, where the curved outline of a bespoke central display is echoed by the rounded forms of an arched opening and shelving niche.
The grayscale material palette is complemented by reflective surfaces, including a curved ceiling mirror above the reception desk that amplifies the height of the space and reflects light back into the room.
A spherical mirror on one wall is intended to evoke surveillance cameras found in underground parking garages and the “curious gaze of an eye peeking through a keyhole”.
A large asymmetrical table made from blackened wood forms the centrepiece of the second room. Designed to resemble a museum vitrine, its glass surfaces display items including a copy of Madonna’s famous book, Sex, which is a key source of inspiration for Anoeses.
Tempynska runs a Kyiv-based architecture and interior design studio called Temp Project that mostly works on retail and residential projects.
She told Dezeen last year that Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine had briefly left her without clients, but that she had since completed projects including a futuristic space for a laser clinic and spa.
Other retail spaces recently designed in Kyiv include a sex shop featuring playful details such as a phallic pouf and a boutique filled with natural materials, designed as a sanctuary from the stresses of the ongoing war.
The photography is by Avramenko.
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