Replanting a Lily

Lily Simon has been serving Montreal women’s fashion needs for about 50 years, the last 20 of those in a boutique on Beaubien Street in the city’s Plateau area.

So its decision to relocate to the newly renovated Rockland Shopping Centre, about 10 miles from its downtown location, was not an insignificant one. While the new site would be heavily trafficked, the retailer risked losing cachet among its largely urban clientele.

Ruscio Studio Inc. (Montreal) went after the two separate groups of shoppers by creating a raised level at the back of the space to establish two distinct areas within the store. The upper level – carpeted and dramatically lit – houses the pricier items and provides a feeling of exclusivity to existing clientele. The front area would be more accessible to the traditional mall shopper.

Contrasting with a neutral background, a 2½-foot-wide ebony table featuring seasonal, high-end fashion wear meanders up the steps and cuts across the vast space. Its 19-foot journey leads shoppers to jewelry and accessories under glass in a mirror-tiled showcase that exudes glitz and glamour. Against the curved back wall, straight bar racks maintain the openness of the area by spacing merchandise apart.

The entire area is cordoned off by a 3-inch-wide motif grill running 25 feet across the store’s width. Made of polished chrome and antique bronze, it was both welded and mechanically assembled.

The store’s fixture system was honored as Fixture of the Year in the 2007 store design competition sponsored by the National Association of Store Fixture Manufacturers. (To see other NASFM fixture winners, click here.)

Client: Lily Simon, Montreal

Designer: Ruscio Studio Inc., Montreal

Millwork: Dama Construction, Dorval, Que.

Fixtures: Agenco Millwork, Montreal

Les Matrices Carritec, Dorval, Que.

Vitre Tout Inc., Montreal

Metal: Les Matrices Carritec Inc., Dorval, Que.

Lighting: Corlite, Des Plaines, Ill.

Tiles: Italbec Intl. Inc., Montreal

Carpet: National Carpet, Montreal

Fringes: Draperie Normandie, Montreal

Visual Elements: ADCO Group World, St. Hubert, Que.

Photography: David Whittaker Photographer, Toronto