To keep city centres vibrant, retailers need innovative concepts that deliver experiences and services online shopping simply cannot. Mondenero transcends the traditional café-or-shop binary: here, food, fashion, and beauty services converge into something altogether different – in both offering and design. The interior design agency Heilight from Neuss conceived and executed this forward-thinking retail concept, earning a German Design Award in the Interior Architecture category for their work.

The store's centerpiece is an elegant ground-floor café anchored by a striking bar. Coffee, cocktails, pastries, and light bites are served here—and can also be ordered on the adjoining Schadowplatz terrace. But the café does more than nourish: it showcases exclusive apparel and accessories from the Mondenero label for both women and men. Art Deco sets the stylistic tone—sophisticated yet refined into a contemporary, abstract language. Seating radiates from the central café counter beneath soaring ceilings: bar stools line a long counter, while classic leather couches anchor intimate dining zones. A striking sculptural element in the stairwell connects the café to the first floor, where a barbershop and beauty suites await. This level cleverly orchestrates contrasting design vocabularies—masculine raw-concrete aesthetics (exposed surfaces, clean lines, steel, leather, wood) layered with deliberately placed "feminine" moments in gold with intricate detailing. Rather than segregating service functions behind closed doors, the design integrates them as open, free-standing volumes, preserving the building's striking raw concrete aesthetic throughout. The elevator completes the dialogue, its Art Deco geometry visually tying the floors together. The result is a distinctive retail environment that feels elegant and cohesive across every level—a destination that promises more than shopping. "With Mondenero, we've designed a unified, internally consistent retail concept with strong brand recognition," explains Holger Weddige, Creative Director at Heilight. "The interplay of architecture, colour, materials, and light speaks directly to our audience and conveys the concept's essential idea." Mondenero founders Beate Katzalis and Parisa Pedran, alongside Leonardo Group, their catering partner, are already developing this concept for expansion to other cities.

www.heilight.com

Photography:
Philipp Kremer

(Published in CUBE Düsseldorf 03|21)