Hardworking Hands of Design

Aesop Reveals the Stories Behind its Stores for Melbourne Design Week

This Melbourne Design Week, Aesop spotlights the many ‘hardworking hands’ behind some of the brand’s most enduring store designs—through a limited-edition publication and in-conversation event. On Wednesday 20 May, friends and customers can join in a discussion with the architects responsible for a number of Aesop’s Melbourne stores, by registering their attendance online. Two esteemed collaborators of Aesop—Clare Cousins, director at Clare Cousins Architects and Rodney Eggleston, director at March Studio—will divulge the deep consideration that went into each store, sharing stories and insights into the planning and construction during a panel discussion hosted by Rachel Weinberg, Managing Editor at Union.
Additionally, from Thursday 14 May, customers can journey to select Aesop doors across Melbourne to collect a limited-edition publication—a visual exploration of the often-unseen design process.
Aesop’s continued involvement with Melbourne Design Week expresses the brand’s long-standing appreciation for intelligent, nonconformist and sustainable design, and how it aligns with the 2026 theme of ‘designing the world you want,’ which considers not only how we design the world we desire today, but also the legacy we leave for tomorrow.
Just as painstaking research is integral to the formulation of each Aesop product, meticulous consideration of visitors’ experience is at the centre of Aesop’s store design philosophy. Beginning with a study of what already exists and can perhaps be retained, Aesop seeks to weave itself into the fabric of each neighbourhood, to add something of merit rather than impose a discordant presence. The recently opened Aesop Doncaster store exemplifies this dedication to re-use, the undulating ceiling, made from 7,560 surplus amber bottles, was first installed in the Adelaide store back in 2008.
Curious design enthusiasts are invited to register their attendance online at https://designweek.melbourne/, and collect their limited-edition copy of ‘Hardworking hands of design’ between Thursday 14 and Sunday 24 May—while stocks last—at the following stores: Aesop Collins Street, Aesop Doncaster, Aesop Emporium, Aesop Fitzroy, Aesop Flinders Lane, Aesop North Melbourne and Aesop QV.

About Clare Cousins
Clare Cousins established her Melbourne practice, Clare Cousins Architects, in 2005. Based on the lands of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Eastern Kulin Nation, the studio is engaged in projects large and small including housing, workplaces and cultural venues. Actively involved in the broader design community, Clare is a Life Fellow and former National President of the Australian Institute of Architects. In 2021 she was awarded the Australian Institute of Architects ACT Chapter President’s Medal for her advocacy to protect Anzac Hall. For her contribution to the profession, the American Institute of Architects awarded Clare the Presidential Medal in 2018 in New York, and in 2013 she was awarded the Australian Institute of Architects’ National Emerging Architect’s Prize. Their portfolio includes the early evolution of Aesop South Yarra, both iterations of Aesop Fitzroy, and Aesop Collins Street—all in Melbourne—as well as Aesop Paddington in Sydney.

About Rodney Eggleston
Rodney Eggleston is an Australian architect and a founding director of March Studio. Rodney is design-focused and employs a hands-on approach from concept to completion. As a lead architect at March Studio, Rodney has been recognised with a number of awards, for residential, public, and commercial projects including Brent Knoll, The Mullet, Somers Beach House, and The Compound House which was awarded the Harold Desbrowe-Annear award in 2018. Hotel Hotel and the Kingborough Community Hub received National Awards in the Interior and Public categories respectively, and the Jackalope Pavilion received an award in the small category. In 2019 Rodney was awarded the National Emerging Architect’s prize, for advancing the profession’s role within the public arena. A long-standing collaborator of Aesop, Rodney has worked on over fifteen stores, both locally and globally.

Register attendance or find more information via this link