Various Associates Subverts Department Store Conventions for a Boutique in Qingdao June 9, 2021 By Georgina McWhirter For J1M5 Boutique, a womens wear store in Qingdao, China, Various Associates installed custom movable closets that glide on ceiling tracks and can be arranged in multiple configurations. Photography by Shao Feng. Two years ago, Various Associates scooped up the fashion retail prize at Interior Design’s Best of Year Awards for SND, a department store in Chongqing, China. Its austere symmetry, dominated by a pyramidal superstructure that appeared beamed down by some alien life form—or perhaps carved by ancient gods—was a smash hit with the public. It also caught the eye of the owner of J1M5 Boutique, a high-end, multibrand womens wear store, who tapped VA to design an outpost in a shopping mall in Qingdao, on China’s east coast.