men. The store fitout was done in collaboration with Melbourne design collective, Sibling, with the brief for the 46sqm store to reflect the label’s priority of producing high quality, beautiful clothing. Jane Caught, director and founding member of Sibling, was the project architect for Kloke, and told Inside Retail PREMIUM that in response to the brief a palette of Victorian ash, concrete, limed floorboards, and copper was used. Minimalism also played a big role in the store design. “It was a very considered response in terms of materiality but quite minimal, which also reflects the brand,” said Caught. “They made a point of not putting too much product in the store so the pieces that are on display are given more attention,” she said. What is referred to as the “stairway to heaven”, a series of wooden cubes, made from Victorian ash stacked upon one another, is the main focus, with the cubes reinforcing the idea of the invisible grid. “The grid was really useful, that one cube unit became the infrastructure for the counter and the display elements, so it was an organising principle which the users of the store could move around to suit their display needs, or reorganise in a lot of different ways.” Another feature of the store are oversized hanging plants, creating a feeling of bringing the outside in. “There is the idea that the stairway could be an abstracted hillside, and then these enormous plants hanging down, and an enormous mirror panel behind the counter reflects the plants to create a feeling of extra space,” she said. Caught told Inside Retail PREMIUM, Kloke is a “very elegant, yet unpretentious” label for smart casual, everyday wear. So the store design is sophisticated, yet casual enough to “encourage people to feel at home in the store and spend some time there”.