Destination Menswear
Destination Menswear, Interior View
Destination Menswear – A New Retail Landscape for John Lewis & Partners
The Destination Menswear project for John Lewis & Partners was an opportunity to redefine what contemporary department-store retail can feel like: quieter, clearer and more purposeful. REAFE STUDIO led the full spatial and retail design response, shaping a customer experience that aligns with John Lewis’ long-established values while projecting a more confident, design-forward future.
At its core, the brief called for a space that could bring coherence to a complex menswear offer — from tailoring to casualwear, accessories to lifestyle. Our response focused on clarity: a design language built around material honesty, spatial rhythm and a graphic calm that guides rather than overwhelms.
Designing with Density and Ease
Menswear departments often carry high density by necessity. Our task was to create breathing space without reducing commercial effectiveness. The strategy centred around:
A more architectural framework of rectilinear forms and clean sightlines
Material zoning to soften transitions between categories
Feature islands that lift product and provide moments of pause
Considered lighting to create intimacy within a broad, open floorplate
Each decision worked to reduce visual noise while maintaining flexibility — a key requirement within multi-brand, frequently changing retail environments.
A Retail System Built to Last
REAFE STUDIO developed a modular display system specifically for the project — robust, refined, and efficient to roll out. Industrial detailing was softened through careful material pairing, balancing commercial resilience with a more human tactility.
The palette anchored around:
Durable timber veneers
Powder-coated steelwork
Softened neutrals that frame rather than compete
Graphic tones used sparingly to cue zones and movement
It’s a system designed not only for immediate impact, but for longevity — a principle at the heart of our retail work. Long-life, loose-fit thinking applied at a commercial scale.
Brand Expression Without Overstatement
Working within an established brand like John Lewis requires sensitivity. The aim was not to reinvent their identity, but to allow it to breathe in a more contemporary architectural context. Graphic elements were pared back, and focus was placed on proportion, materiality and a more spatial form of storytelling.
The result is a menswear destination that feels aligned with the brand’s heritage of quality and service, yet clearly signals its direction forward.
Retail Design Grounded in Cross-Disciplinary Thinking
As a multidisciplinary studio — working across architecture, retail design, branding, commercial interiors and industrial design — our retail work benefits from a broader design understanding. In Destination Menswear, this meant:
Architectural clarity shaping circulation
Industrial design informing adaptable display systems
Branding influencing tone, palette and detail
Interior design guiding atmosphere and customer experience
This integrated approach is what allows REAFE STUDIO to shape retail environments that are both commercially effective and quietly distinctive.
A Confident Step Forward for John Lewis & Partners
Destination Menswear has since become a key reference point within the John Lewis estate — a space that demonstrates how large-format retail can evolve with sensitivity and intent. For REAFE STUDIO, it stands as an important project in our retail portfolio: a demonstration of how thoughtful design can bring calm, clarity and renewed purpose to the department-store model.
Interested in talking about a retail project?
REAFE STUDIO supports brands, developers and retailers in designing environments that balance commercial needs with crafted, architectural experience.
If you’d like to discuss how our approach can support your project, we’d be happy to talk.
