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Back in 2003, young Dutch architect Rem D. Koolhaas (nephew of “the” Rem Koolhaas) teamed with seventh generation shoemaker Galahad Clark to launch United Nude, a stylish shoe brand rooted in conceptual design, elegance and innovation. Since then, the brand has been quite successful, selling in over 35 countries, and recently, Koolhaas opened a flagship store in Shanghai. Similar to New York’s Fifth Avenue, or Paris’ Champs-Élysées, the store is situated in Shanghai’s prestigious retail strip and the flashy design draws all the attention to the shoes.
More about the store design after the break.
Koolhaas created a “dark-shop” which literally highlights the product, and everything else fades into the darkness. A Wall of Light™ – a computer controlled LED wall, displays United Nude products as works of art encapsulated in geometric frames.
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“In Amsterdam, we introduced the flagship concept of the Wall of Light, in New York we featured a Lo Res Lamborghini Countach and here in Shanghai we created a shop as a robot, where shoes move around mechanically. Each shop space simply asks for, or perhaps even dictates its own customized solution,” added the designer.
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The varied stores keep the visitors entertained, no matter which location they are shopping in. We look forward to seeing Koolhaas’ next idea for a potential flagship store in London, Tokyo and even Moscow within the coming year.
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