For Gentle Monster’s second U.S. outpost, which just opened in Downtown L.A., the Korean eyewear brand’s founder chose a familiar theme. “In eastern Asia, we celebrate the harvest moon,” says Hankook Kim. “It’s a core tradition that reflects where we are from.” To fully realize the concept, scarecrow-like husks sit on mother-of-pearl paddies, and 2,600 metallic rods symbolizing the grain’s stalks rise from the flooring. Colorful, hand-woven rugs resembling bundles of twigs—a collaboration between knit designer Misu A Barbe and Gentle Monster’s in-house design team—sit adjacent to artist Jung Uk Yang’s massive wooden installation, which evokes threshing (the final step in collecting rice). Collectively, the store’s pastoral design elements transport shoppers to a tranquil countryside locale in the middle of the city.
(See more from Gentle Monster on The List.)
