Fashion collector Octavius ‘Otto’ La Rosa has an archive of one-thousand-plus avant-garde fashion garments, which includes pieces by Comme des Garçons, Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake and Walter Van Beirendonck. These garments can be purchased online, but have seldom made it to public viewing in the past. The importance of archiving, documenting and viewing fashion is core to Otto’s practice and reflects the increased cultural importance of fashion in the collections and exhibitions of museums and galleries. The brief asked that Sibling make this high-end collection public in a central-Melbourne store space.

The project is a progressive approach to interior design as it steps out of the current trend of colour and surface pattern by returning to the white cube. The neutral territory of the white cube is transformed through texture. Undulating bulbous white walls hide change rooms behind. Dimpled stainless steel creates depth and reflects light. Not everything is out in the open at Dot Comme. Most of the archive is concealed behind one of the doors, which references Rei Kawakubo’s first store where the collection was concealed in a backroom.

The interior architecture reflects and supports the online business of dot COMME – shoppers may scroll through the online store of dot COMME at a table by Gaetano Pesce and Memphis Milano. Once selected, pieces are then brought out for display. Like the collection, the interior is beyond trends.

Photography: Sean Fennessy.