PROJECTS 21


WORDS BY TONY ROCK


IMAGES BY SFAP


PROJECT 1


MAC Cosmetics, Deji Plaza, Nanjing


Coinciding with the 20th anniversary of MAC Cosmetics’s entry into the mainland China market, X+Living has redesigned the brand’s Deji Plaza store in Nanjing


In the visual upgrade of MAC Cosmetics’ Deji Plaza store in Nanjing, China, Li Xiang, founder and chief designer of X+Living, chose ‘musical art’ as the design motif for the commercial space. As MAC is an acronym for Make-Up, Art, Cosmetic, this echoed the artistic nature inherent in the brand’s DNA.


This choice was based on the idea that music, as a universal language, ‘possesses aesthetic value and perceptual methods that are universally appealing’.


The store appears as if carved out from the deconstructed elements of a piano, while integrating classic bullet lipstick and monochromatic eyeshadow products into the design. At the entrance, the form of a grand piano is the signature display, with MAC Cosmetics’ black tube lipsticks performing the role of the black keys on the white platforms. Meanwhile, the integrated make-up stations located at the four corners, modelled after the product packaging, incorporate openable mirrored cabinets and pull-out make-up chairs. The flexible design enables variable configurations, allowing the space to switch between artistic display and commercial activities, while the lighting system shifts through a spectrum of colours, creating a visually rhythmic dynamic. This is the first time Li has engaged with a beauty brand. ‘When I encountered the MAC Cosmetics, I felt a very natural sense of identification,’ says Li. ‘The“limitless self-expression”that MAC Cosmetics advocates is actually in line with my design philosophy. Whether it is design or a beauty brand like MAC Cosmetics, we are not creating some kind of “standardised beauty”. Instead, we are trying to convey an attitude, a philosophy, and a right to self-identity and free choice. This very notion is the “power of beauty” that I understand and have always believed in.’


PROJECT INFO


Client MAC Cosmetics


Designer/architect X+Living


Size 87.2m2


Completion date July 2025


All images The store is designed as if carved out from the deconstructed elements of a piano, while at the entrance, the form of a grand piano is the signature display


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