THE GENTLEWOMAN
THE BOLD SHAPES AND BIG IDEAS OF SOPHIE HICKS
Interview by Ellis Woodman.
Photography by Jody Rogac.
September 2026
CULTURED MAGAZINE
THE ART OF THE FASHION FLAGSHIP (AND THE FOUR ARCHITECTS GETTING IT RIGHT)
by John Glendall. Photograph of Acne Studios Seoul by Annabel Elston. April/May 2019
“We don’t actually need shops anymore,” says Sophie Hicks of her work designing highly-acclaimed retail environments around the world. The London-based architect is responsible for the spaces of an impressive range of blue-chip clients, including Paul Smith, Yohji Yamamoto, Acne Studios and Chloé, but with luxury brands seeking out her architectural imprimatur, she has taken a measured approach to these commissions.
“It’s so much more convenient to look for clothes online and have them delivered to your house,” she says, explaining why she creates destinations that are more about conveying the essence of a brand than offering endless racks of inventory. In her work with Acne Studios, for example, Hicks wanted to create the impression of Sweden, where the brand and its founder, Jonny Johansson, are based—but she needed to construct that in Manhattan’s West Village, and in the Cheongdam district of Seoul.
“I didn’t really know Sweden at all before I started with Acne Studios,” she admits. In order to familiarize herself, she spent several weeks in the Scandinavian nation walking through neighborhoods, visiting museums, going to restaurants and shops and, perhaps most importantly, spending time with Johansson.
In Seoul, she designed a new building from the ground up, with its concrete structure referencing what she calls the “groundedness of the Swedes.” The inside, meanwhile, replicates the light qualities— “very cool, very even”—of the distinctive Swedish landscape. Sun filters through the translucent panels of the façade, while supplemental light is concealed behind a polycarbonate ceiling, making a cool, even distribution of light throughout the day—“very much like Swedish light.”
Hicks, who early in her career was an editor at Vogue, sees value in new stores, but, as she cautions, “the environment of the store is so important. It has to be something customers can’t get online.”
AMC LE MONITEUR ARCHITECTURE
SOPHIE HICKS, FAÇADE EN PAPIER DE YAMAMOTO
By Maryse Quinton
Photographs by Johannes Marburg
February 2009
CORRIERE DELLA SERA – LIVING
IL CEMENTO GENTILE / COUNTRY DREAM
by Paola Menaldo
Photos by Adrian Gaut
March 2022
THE MODERN HOUSE
ARCHITECT SOPHIE HICKS ON LIFE IN HER HIDDEN CONCRETE HAVEN IN KENSINGTON
by The Modern House
Summer 2023
ANOTHER MAGAZINE
AN INTERVIEW WITH SOPHIE HICKS, FASHION’S ARCHITECT
Interview by Donatien Grau
Portrait by Tim Walker
November 2014
FRAME MAGAZINE
ACNE’S KOREAN FLAGSHIP
By Shonquis Moreno
Photo by Annabel Elston
March 2016
FRÄULEIN MAGAZINE
SOPHIE HICKS, WAS WÜRDE SOPHIE TUN?
By Aicha Reguieg
Photographs by David Fischer
April 2012
J’N’C News
DIE GEISTERJÄGERIN
Interview by Svea Jörgens
Portraits by Volker Conradus
December 2012
SPACE MAGAZINE
ACNE STUDIOS
Interview by Park Sungjin
Photo by Annabel Elston
January 2016
NR
SOPHIE HICKS DISCUSSES THE FASHION INDUSTRY AND HER CAREER IN ARCHITECTURE.
by Izzy Bilkus. Photographs by Adrian Gaut, Johannes Marburg, James Drew Turner and Annabel Elston.
Winter 2021