With the re-opening of Machine-A’s London home, Stavros Karelis aims to drive culture forward.

It has been ten years since Stavros Karelis founded the cult retail space Machine-A with stylist Anna Trevelyan. Within those ten years, Machine-A has turned into a cultural movement, has launched multiple designers into stardom and has solidified itself as an entity in the business, with all eyes gawking at what Karelis will do next. Early last year, he opened a shiny new location in Shanghai, bringing forward cult labels like Y/PROJECT, Martine Rose and Rick Owens into a sleek and futuristic space that also housed the very first physical Raf Simons retail space, specifically working with Simons’s architect in order to bring forward a monumental step for the label.

Not being able to visit the Shanghai space just until one month ago, Karelis expressed the mixture of emotions witnessing it all in person. “This trip to Shanghai was filled with so many emotions. We spent almost close to a year and a half designing the space, signing off interiors via Zoom, dealign with countless online meetings and witnessing the development from afar. It was integral for our space to differentiate itself from other spaces - it’s all about the fluidity and ease, we show the collections in a gender-neutral way, so picking the right feeling is very important. Retail is becoming a cultural space, and the experience needs to mirror how culturally relevant you are as a brand.”

The flagship in London’s Brewer Street closed its doors early this year to completely revamp its interior and mark the new chapter of Machine-A’s identity. “It was essential for me to stay in our home in Brewer Street. We were one of the very first fashion retailers to open in Soho, so for the past ten years the area has changed tremendously.” Designed by architect Peijing Lu, the name behind the design of the Shanghai boutique, the brutalist architecture seen throughout flows onto two floors, with expanded space and a dedicated exhibition space, currently housing Raf Simons’s lifestyle collaboration with Kvadrat.

The Machine-A renaissance is not just physical, as the aesthetic and brand identity of the retailer has changed as well, headed by branding designer Paul Hetherington, creating new typeface, logos and overall an updated feeling that matches the futuristic and forward thinking of Stavros Karelis and the Machine-A collective. With the new opening, the space continues to be the home of cult, cool and independent designers like Steven Ma, Chet Lo, Olly Shinder, with supporting and celebrating the most talented designers and their craft embedded as an integral part of Machine-A’s DNA. “The most important thing for us is not to just franchise, or to carry a designer, but we want for them to be able to interact with the culture around us, the subcultures of London and Shanghai - whether it is through music, visuals, fashion history or creative arts. In order for a retailer to be successful, they need to understand incredibly well the people in the city, and what drives them.”