Peek & Cloppenburg’s conscious open shop at Potsdamer Platz

Despite the shield measures and the layoffs of 350 employees, Peek & Cloppenburg stuck with opening its environmental megaproject at Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz. With the new store in The Playce, the Dusseldorf-based company is taking a major step forward as part of its We Care Together sustainability initiative.

Designed as a collaborative platform, the multi-brand house aims to offer more than just more sustainable fashion and also serve as a venue for the exchange and development of sustainable concepts. The focus is also on services to extend the life cycle of products. Motto: “Not perfect, just better every day.”

The store should inspire and give impetus, explains Thimo Schoenwehr. The former store for the Green Trade Fair Neonyt designed and later Marketing Director for the Greentech Festival and will run it together with Paul Heinemann, former manager of the P&C branch in Saarlouis. “We want to address people who are already thinking about sustainable fashion, as well as reach a broader audience and get them excited about the topic,” says Schwenswehr.

The collection includes amazing brands from the traditional P&C group, including Boss, Marc O’Polo, Marc Cain, Tommy Hilfiger and Replay, of which, according to Schwensfire, only sustainable capsules were purchased. Pure, fair fashion labels make up about 30 percent of the conscious range.

For example, the women’s clothing brand Lanius is new and prominently displayed in the entrance area. Knowledge Cotton Apparel will also have its own space directly on the ground floor, opposite Jake*s Studio’s private label from P&C’s We Care Together sustainability program. Labels like Vaude and Color are also standard. Extensive collaboration with Armedangels and Ecoalf is also evident.

Reducing the essentials should also emphasize the sustainability aspect. In addition, much less goods are hung in the store than usual. Only four sizes of each piece are shown.

According to the “architecture of omissions”, the new 3,000-square-meter ecological store is designed to be as resource-friendly as possible, explains Schwenswehr. No additional floor coverings and ceiling suspensions were used. Concrete is visible everywhere, and the concept of furniture is much lower. In brand stores, the name of the manufacturer is visible only by a light fitting. All this has a really self-sufficient appearance and differs from the usual branches and cosmopolitan houses of Düsseldorf.

The façade that extends from the ground floor to the first floor of the center will be planted with plants before opening day. Also green is the ‘&’ between Peek Cloppenburg. The poles look very clear and airy. And in between, there’s plenty of room for interaction with the customer and the community, Schwenswehr explains.

In the first basement, customers will also find a glass factory where four seamstresses are always doing repairs and alterations directly. In addition to recycling workshops, printing and embroidery machines are placed there, where parts that have been purchased or just brought in can be customized. The Conscious Store shall also act as a one-stop platform for events and speaker programs on the topic of eco-Fachion and Sustainability.