Architecture, art and a dash of the provocateur behind success of luxury retail interiors

When it comes to explaining the success of his 30-year career creating luxurious modern residences, retail stores, and hotels, the American architect Peter Marino epitomises the line: “Everybody’s got to have a gimmick.”

Marino’s own gimmick is the ability to integrate his rigorous architectural training at Cornell with an encyclopaedic knowledge of fine arts that places him in a unique position to curate and commission distinctive artworks for his projects. Then, add a dash of the provocateur: Marino, 67, is almost as well known for his penchant for head-to-toe black leather biker gear and gothic-style jewellery.

In Hong Kong, Marino’s style is on show at his two newest interior projects at French fashion house Louis Vuitton’s Canton Road boutique and the company’s flagship store in Central’s Landmark shopping mall.

The challenge, he says, was to redefine the retail experience for distinctly different shoppers: the Kowloon store predominantly caters to tourists and the Central boutique attracts more local fashionistas.

Marino says the design process is similar to creating an urban master plan “with individual parts that must come together”.

“There are so many different categories of merchandise now so the trick is to integrate them in a fun and easy way so the client does not necessarily focus on differentiation but rather the total experience,” he said.