Italian luxury brand Prada has opened its first store in Almaty, Kazakhstan at Esentai Mall.
The store, designed by architect Roberto Baciocchi, spans about 740 sqm on one level and presents the women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, bags, accessories and footwear collections.
The angular facade, which pays tribute to artist Carlos Cruz-Diez, features a black marble surface with a projecting roof, frames two large light boxes, three window displays and three entrances on the one side, and three light boxes and two window displays on the other. This base is topped by a structure made of back-lit vertical golden-coloured and polished steel panels rising to a height of three floors that create an unusual kinetic effect, both in daylight and at night.
The main area, characterised by the classic black and white marble chequered floor – a legacy of Prada’s historic identity – reveals a sequence of spaces dedicated to women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, bags, accessories and footwear collections. These are shown inside an elegant gallery lined with black Marquina marble walls and openings featuring polished steel display cabinets.
The store continues through a succession of rooms featuring typical Prada elements, such as green canvas walls, floors with beige carpet and display units and counters in glass, steel and coloured saffiano leather.
The area dedicated to women’s collections is characterised by green velvet “Clover Leaf” sofas, designed by Verner Panton and exclusively reproduced for Prada, while palissander walls and furniture and light-brown velvet sofas define the room dedicated to the men’s collections.
