Flying shirt collars, flocks of denim, a herbarium, reflecting mirrors, shop displays bursting out into the street – its September in Regent Street, London with the sixth year of the RIBA Regent Street Windows Project where architects work with flagship stores to enliven the steet with architectural installations in shop windows.
Run in parallel with the London Design Festival and London Fashion Week, the project celebrates how good design can reinforce the identity of a retailer or restaurant. The thirteen windows in different locations along Regent Street are all very different. Citizen’s Design Bureau allow views out from the café at the Café Royale Hotel through a new window curtain that celebrates the history of the Café Royale and of London, Conran and Partners celebrates the invention of the button-down collar at Brooks Brothers as they fly like a flock of birds, London Atelier installs a Herbarium at Crabtree & Evelyn and Shiro Studio uses folded mirrors to create ever-changing reflections for Armani Exchange.
The best are those which breaks out of the shop window onto the street frontage and into the shop as with AMD Interior Architecture who take over the Levi shop, Michaelis Boyd Associates at Kiehl’s and Space Group Architects at Penhaligon’s.
Apple, however, manages to outdo them all at Selfridge’s in Oxford Street by taking all of 24 windows – the first time Selfridges have given all its windows over to one brand – for floral installations that celebrate the creation of the new Apple Watch and – the ultimate luxury – there is only watch in each window. The installation of 24 large flowers and over 5,000 smaller ones was achieved by photographing flowers in slow motion, then sculpting them in resin and hand-painting them, with the smaller components being 3-D printed, bringing colour, fun and creativity to Oxford Street.
‘We are thrilled that the flowers of the Apple Watch face have inspired such a beautiful design and to see it come to life in this amazing installation, reflected in all 24 of Selfridges’ historic windows,’ (Paul Deneve, Apple’s vice president of special projects).
‘Collaborating with Apple on such a large scale creative project continues our well-established tradition of inviting outstanding designers with a unique point of view to curate displays within our stores.’ (Selfridges’ creative director Linda Hewson)
In the highly competitive retail environment, imaginative design continues to play a major role in reinforcing brands as an experience, not a product.
