SOPHIE HICKS ARCHITECTS

Sophie Hicks is always up for a challenge—so long as it intrigues her. The fashion editor turned architect is never short of ideas for transforming poetic concepts into concrete realities.

When it comes to making abstract principles into tangible struc­tures, Sophie Hicks has an innate sense for elegance. Along with sleek, modern residences, the architect specializes in retail spaces for fashion houses with a distinct savoir faire. Her visions are rooted in a holistic, imaginative comprehension of what a brand is, was, and can become. “It’s got nothing to do with my taste,” she says. “It’s all about who they are and how I translate that into architectural form.”

A recently completed store in Seoul for a Korean scent brand illuminates how a fantastical-sounding idea—here, an edifice capturing the “ethos of perfume”—becomes reality under Hicks’ lead. It intrigues her how perfumes balance foul and fragrant notes. In the building, the ground floor channels the foul through asphalt, rubber, and raw metal gates, echoing its gritty urban surroundings; a fragrant counterpart emerges in aesthetic as visitors travel up an airy staircase into a bright, ethereal interior. Tasked with devising a retail concept for Phoebe Philo’s Chloé in 2002, Hicks similarly utilized evocative juxtaposition. “The brand had a tendency to look too young and pretty,” she explains. “It needed roughing up.” Untreated plywood wall panels did the trick: “It contrasts very well with gold-plated furniture, pink marble tabletops, and extremely expensive handbags.”