Opening its doors in August 2011, Cara & Co is a concept store located within Westfield Sydney and recreating the successful boutique/shop/department store formula originally created in the grounds of Moscow’s Centre of Contemporary Art.

Following the likes of Colette in Paris and Milan’s 10 Corso Como, Cara & Co brings together high fashion, art, gadgets, food and music in a space that functions both as a store and an exhibition space.

“The concept behind the design for the Sydney store is the same as the Moscow store – ’thought over eclecticism’,” explains designer Alexey Oleshov.

“The store feels like a museum, whereby each zone within the store can be treated like an exhibit. Objects within each of the zone of the store are for sale; it gives us an opportunity for renewal each time one is sold.”

Architecturally designed backdrops and surfaces provide countless novel ways of exhibiting each object.

“Unpredictable products are worked in together, complementing their distinctive surroundings,” Oleshov explains. “This inventive approach to displaying objects is a fundamental part of the concept.”

The space aims to function on many levels in both a practical and experiential sense.

“We want the visitor to feel inspired by the store, to be drawn in by the unique visual experience,” Oleshov says, explaining that the space reaches out to each of the 5 senses.

“There is the perfume zone – smell; gadget zone – touch and sight; the fine dining restarurant – taste; the men’s and women’s fashion zones – touch and sight, and the ambience, the music – sound.”

Bringing the concept from Moscow to Sydney allowed the incorporation of new elements – whereas the Moscow store is set within a former wine factory in an old industrial zone, the Sydney store appears within a shopping precinct. The Moscow store featured a cosy café, whereas the Sydney version creates a different vibe with a fine dining restaurant incorporated into the fit-out.

However, “it was very important to keep the same feeling inside each concept store,” Oleshov says.

Cara & Co
caraandco.com