Raw elegance: Store offers rough-luxe experience

Vietnam – Contemporary experience store L’Usine has opened in Ho Chi Minh City.

Paul Norriss and Darren Chew have transformed the 18th-century building, giving it a new lease of life while maintaining and celebrating the raw industrial fittings of its French colonial past.

Contained in a polished cement communal space, L’Usine sells a global selection of men’s and women’s fashion brands, combined with exclusive homeware and vintage bikes.

The cafeteria is a fusion of factory eating and French bistro aesthetic, providing sustenance in the form of home-style cakes and Mariage Frères teas.

Additionally, a gallery behind a five-metre tall steel door aims to inspire visitors by showcasing new artists each month.

For details about spaces that focus on experience, rather than glamour, see our Micro Trend Rough-Luxe Spaces.