The New York-based architect and designer Stephan Jaklitsch has a new monograph, Habits, Patterns, Algorithms chronicling ten years of his work, ranging from residences to retail. But most striking are his interiors for the Marc Jacobs brand: Beginning with the StanJaklitsch has designed all the stores for the fashion empire, in a long-time partnership that spans the globe.

The first Marc Jacobs café opened this past spring in Milan's historic Brear district at Piazza del Carmine. The café features neon signage, navy concrete floors and blue steel shelves and is connected to the store, which Jaklitsch also designed, with a large blue sliding glass door.

The strategy at this store on Bleecker Street was to focus the attention on the product by placing it at eye level. The white flooring, walls and surfaces are all used to minimize the boundaries of the interior, while the central wood table and walnut backwall serve as elements that anchor the space.

The two primary Los Angeles stores sit across Melrose Avenue from each other. Their juxtaposition highlights a difference in the brands as well as a shift in the evolving urban context of Los Angeles: one in the excessive tradition of Beverly Hills and the other with a contemporary, sparse gesture of the strip mall along the avenue.

The design draws upon the store’s immediate context and was inspired by the spirit of Hollywood icons like Bullock’s Wilshire Department Store. The curvature of the rear wall was designed to encapsulate the store while the linear expanse of sycamore shelving and acid-stained mirror expands the perception of the space. The resulting perception is simultaneously spacious yet intimate

The architectural language is a continuation of the brand elements established in the Marc by Marc Jacobs Los Angeles store. The strategy was to position merchandise around the perimeter of the store and use low merchandise displays that sit below eye level--allowing clear views from the street to the store’s backwall.

To draw attention to the second level sales floor, SJA positioned an oversized LED display at the stair’s landing to serve as a bright and dynamic billboard, easily visible throughout the store and from the street beyond. To the left, a wall of blue glass separates a sunglass display and cash area. The blue glass acts as a key identifier for the Marc Jacobs brand.

The sense of continuity with the retail brand was a very high priority in this design. In order to reflect the company’s carefully crafted brand image, the showroom features design elements that are also present in Marc Jacobs Collection Stores, such as ebonized wood floors, custom sycamore millwork, and glass and steel vitrines.

Stephan Jaklitsch Architects worked directly with the French Ministry of Culture to design a new facade for the store that would become the model used for all future renovations to the Palais-Royal.

A palette of sycamore, acid-etched glass, and satin nickel compose the millwork which envelopes the perimeter of the space. To unify the space, SJA employed a canopy of repetitive ceiling vaults that serve as a counterpoint to the historic architecture.