NiiiZ Design Lab built V12's Seoul store like a supercar engine

Japanese golfwear brand V12 wanted a 181-sqm Gangnam-gu flagship that would speak to a young, fashion-forward audience rather than the conventional golf-retail look.

Classical arches, hairline metal and oversized crossing volumes create deliberate visual instability; intense red lighting expresses engine heat against cold steel; UV black light near the entrance transforms white products and visitors' clothing; a large image wall replaces the storefront so the interior is revealed in sequence; the cash counter sits deep inside and fitting rooms form a continuous metallic wall.

The store opened in Gangnam-gu, Seoul in 2022; no commercial results reported. Design led by NiiiZ Design Lab's Sungchul Park and Areum Han, with Soojeong Lim on the design team.

Retail design magazine ArredaNegozi reported in March 2022 on the new V12 Flagship Store in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, designed by NiiiZ Design Lab for the Japanese golfwear brand. The 181-sqm space translates the brand's identity — named after the V12 supercar engine — into metallic materials, red lighting and architectural volumes, aimed at a young audience drawn to bold fashion rather than conventional golf retail.

The project is built on 'unexpected scenes': classical arches, hairline metal surfaces and oversized architectural masses coexist to create a 'deliberately heterogeneous and visually unstable environment'. Intense red lighting metaphorically expresses the heat of a V12 engine against cold polished stainless steel and mirrored perforated panels, while ultraviolet black light in the entrance concept zone plays on white products and visitors' clothing.

The most radical decision is structural: the traditional shop window is gone, replaced by a large image wall that prevents direct visibility inside, so visitors enter through gradually revealed spaces in a more cinematic, narrative sequence. The functional layout follows — cash counter deep inside, reception near the fitting rooms, which appear as a continuous metallic wall — translating the 'dynamic and slightly uncomfortable feeling of high-performance driving' into retail.

Golfwear retail's conventions said nothing to a young, fashion-first customer.

The engine metaphor gives every surface a reason: red for heat, steel for the block, instability for speed.

Removing the storefront turns the street-facing facade from display case to poster.

Pushing the till to the back forces visitors through the whole scenography before paying.

A niche brand can announce its redesign by attacking retail conventions: removing the window makes the whole store the reveal.

The store opened in Gangnam-gu, Seoul in 2022 and was published by retail design press. No commercial performance was reported.