Malababa Flagship, Madrid
If you’re looking to do some shopping in Madrid, the Calle de Serrano located in the epicentre of the Salamanca district should be your first port of call. Positioned there, amongst the top international design houses and luxury boutiques shines the flagship store by Spanish label, Malababa. Founded in 2000 by Ana Carrasco and Jaime Lara, the Malababa store has an unrefined elegance of natural textures, similar to the quality of craftsmanship seen in all of the Spanish house’s leather goods.
Designed by local architecture and design studio Ciszak Dalmas and Madrid-based, Italian architect Matteo Ferrari in collaboration with Malababa’s founders, the store has been built using textural materials such as terrazzo, stone, brass and leather in a design that is warm, yet minimalist and restrained. Practical and precise, modular shelving units and plinths have been implemented to cater to the shifting demands of merchandising.
Throughout the two storeys they have used a neutral palette in pale, fleshy tones and colour-washed walls rendered in a mix of Galician clay and white marble powder. A bespoke leather curtain, created by craftsman Osvaldo Ruben Thomas, drapes artfully across one of the room’s walls. This piece, made out of vegetable tanned cowhide leather, has been unevenly hand cut, creating a geometric installation that impresses and enhances the leather used throughout some of the brand’s collection.
The geometric style is continued with a display of modular blocks, varying in shapes, sizes and combinations of materials such as aged brass and agate. These delicate surfaces are juxtaposed with the coarseness of clay, rendered in a hand-combed finish that stripes the arched wall and cabinetry. The material is again used in a decorative lattice, which not only acts as a dividing wall for the store but complements the brand’s use of hand-crafted techniques in this sophisticated installation.
Neatly captured in a lust-worthy flagship store is the Malababa design ethos; unrefined elegance of the natural state in conjunction with simple yet sophisticated composition. Above all it exudes their passion for their craft and a deep respect and understanding of the natural materials that they use.
Photography by Asier Rua.
Credits: Yatzer
