Designing Women

Soma's inside-out approach caters to women of a certain age

Soma's customer is over it. She is over Victoria's Secret. She is over 35. And she is over searching through traditional department stores for a hit-or-miss lingerie selection. Soma, the new lingerie division of Fort Myers, Fla.-based Chico's, knows all that.

"It's a brand that is specially designed for the more mature customer who doesn't have many alternatives other than the impersonal department store environment," says Dave Ziel, Chico's vice president of construction services. "Knowing our customer is how we build our business. She is who we are, and we factor her in every decision from the design of the store to design of products."

In Soma, which means "body" in Greek, Chico's in effect built from the outside in, taking its successful philosophy of chic, elegant fashion in sizes that fit all body shapes to its logical foundation: equally comfortable and flattering lingerie, as well as active wear and sleepwear.

The company was just beginning to develop the concept when it brought in Seattle-based Callison Architecture Inc. Together they created a retail environment and merchandising strategy inspired by the Soma product itself. The 2,400-sq.-ft. prototype debuted at the Bell Tower Shops in Fort Myers, Fla., in September 2004, and the company opened 10 other stores?ranging in size from 2,400 sq. ft. to 3,500 sq. ft.?in major cities from September to October.

"Soma's fashion approach to lingerie and active wear inspired the design of the store and brand elements," says MJ Munsell, Callison principal, who started working with Soma before there was even a name for the brand.

"The asymmetrical layering, the light and dark, hard and soft and a 'wardrobing' approach to lingerie became the basis of the store layout, placement of visual elements and the merchandising concept," says Munsell.

Design inspiration came from one of the new line's signature pieces: a sensual lotus-patterned textile that Munsell saw in an early meeting. "We liked the pattern, and thought it was memorable," she says. "It seemed perfect for the target customer, and had an opportunity for long life."

The graphic design?created in a sophisticated palette of apricot, chocolate brown and tea stain?was intended to reflect Soma's juxtaposition of clean and contemporary styling with pattern and color. "We worked with the basic elements of the brand's feminine, textured, artistic style of clothing and demonstrated how to combine the two," says John Mason, Callison's senior project designer.

The feminine motif inspired the "Soma by Chico's" logo, in a lower case typeface that is curvy, sensuous and robust, but also clean and modern, used on all printed collateral, packaging and hang tags throughout the store.

While Munsell says, "We purposefully didn't want to overuse it," the intricate flower design is used as a pattern on the floor at the entrance to the store, and as inspiration for props, fixtures and decorative elements as well.

Both Chico's and Callison were looking for something different in the Soma store, and they worked in collaboration to achieve their goal. "We wanted to develop a successful new brand and concept," says James Smith, Chico's manager of store planning. "Our goal was to evolve Chico's signature merchandise, service and environment into a separate, distinct brand personality all its own," says Munsell, "one that clearly appeals not only to Chico's customers, but other consumers being left behind in the lingerie market."

Munsell adds, "It was critical to create an environment that makes a distinction between lingerie, sleepwear and active wear?one that allows cross merchandising across the store." The team started with casework designs and fixture designs that can be adapted with different inserts for different apparel categories. Casework is literally layered like merchandise, so associates can call out special items, or feature special items, as well as merchandise more densely.

Instead of being relegated to the back of the store, lingerie is displayed along one side of the store, from front to back, under a dropped trellis ceiling, and against a dramatic chocolate background. On the opposite side of the store, active wear and sleepwear are merchandised within a lighter palette of pearlescent ivory and apricot.

The design team focused carefully on the dressing rooms and fitting area. Spacious and warm, they include original artwork, soft furnishings, decorative pendant lights and a vanity with a large illuminated mirror behind it. An upholstered wardrobing panel provides the backdrop for "staging" outfits. "It all allows for a very special presentation, and makes it a lot more personal," says Munsell. "We wanted it to feel like one's own personal dresssing room."

A combination of fluorescent and incandescent lighting was also very carefully chosen?with illumination projected toward the customer and not down on her, to give a more flattering reflection.

Halogen, incandescent and fluorescent lighting were used in the rest of the store. Chico's team researched different color temperatures and various lamps used in fixtures, says Munsell, and worked with New York lighting firm Theos Kondos "to finesse the lamp specifications and color temperatures."

All-wood flooring, in contrasting shades, repeats the apricot and chocolate color scheme. Furnishings throughout reflect a fresh femininity appropriate to the brand. "We tried to develop a core group of fixtures, then accented them with found objects," says Munsell.

For example, metal fixtures have blown-glass finials. Rock crystal beads dangle from pendant lights. Large round tables, designed to look like found objects, echo the lotus shape, and oversized mirrors are framed in seashells.

"Obviously, we had to pay attention to cost in designing the store, and we needed to respect the timeframe, but we also wanted to balance the budgetary and scheduling needs with the feeling of a specialty store," says Munsell.

"It was a unique partnership," says Ziel, "with Callison maintaining the brand design focus, while Chico's focus was on the growth of an existing concept. Having Callison understand the system was nice. Their uniqueness made designing and evolving these retail concepts a positive experience."

Photo by: Chris Eden, Callison Architecture, Seattle