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.
“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.
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.
