It first set foot in this country in the 1980s. Its stores are difficult to characterise and this store, in the gargantuan CentrO shopping mall in Oberhausen, northwest Germany, is no exception.
The only feature common to most Esprit outlets is the stencil-style logo. In CentrO this signature occupies the wall backing on to the escalator well. The white Esprit sign, set against a red background, is given an additional lift by white fluorescent tubes set horizontally around it.
Indeed, the in-store lighting, created by Ansorg for this 19,375 sq ft, two-floor store does much to set it apart from its neighbours. Each of the three floors has a series of rafts suspended from the ceiling, ranging from the white rectangular minimalism of the menswear department to the curved, bleached-wood structure that houses the lighting in the women's area.
The store is also noteworthy for the rapid changes in mood achieved with different materials. Womenswear has a natural feel with wood and grey terrazzo tiling. This contrasts strongly with the hi-tech ambiance of menswear on the first floor, where white and dark brown dominate with chrome and mirrored finishes.
The store opened late last year and proves the brand is alive and well in Germany, its traditional heartland.
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