The make-up company’s shop makes its first stop in Manhattan
The great stars of architecture pull out their pencils and design the most curious and futuristic of stores. Foster+Partners has just finished the new Apple Store in Piazza Liberty in Milan, David Chipperfield Architects have designed dozens of boutiques for Valentino, and now Zaha Hadid Architects has just finished the first temporary shop in Soho in Manhattan for Makiage, the New York cosmetic company based in Tel-Aviv.
A new candy land for everyone who loves cosmetics, with over 800 pieces including lipsticks, foundations, eye shadows, nail polish and cosmetic accessories
Il design del padiglione richiama l’identità grafica del packaging dei prodotti, con una struttura che reinterpreta il motivo geometrico che avvolge ogni confezione.
The design of the pavilion is reminiscent of the graphic identity of the product packaging, with a structure that interprets the geometric motif that wraps around every box. Located inside a historic cast-iron building, the pavilion is structured as a skeleton-like tunnel made with reinforced plastic components, a sequence of black and white ribbons that generate a rhythm of contrasts, framing a large central display case and a series of make-up stations located around the perimeter.
“The dynamic quality of the structure, explained Kar-Hwa Ho, head of interior design for Zaha Hadid Architects, invites you to explore the shop. I believe it is important to design something that relates to the products or the ethics of the brand. In this case, we were able to translate a distinctive element at the architectural level. The British company LightIQ provided an invaluable contribution for the lighting, positioned in an alternating pattern inside the “ribbons” that compose the structure and offering an accurate reading of the pigments in the various products.
At the end of the summer, the pavilion will be dismantled and will begin a tour around the world. The destinations? They’re still top secret
Makiage is just the most recent brand to choose the temporary shop formula. Many brands are creating formats made to travel between different countries. The most recent openings include the Fendi stores inside the Selfridges department stores in London in Oxford Street, inspired by the Italian piazza, and decorated with balloons, ice cream and other elements that evoke a somewhat stereotyped image of Italy. Furthermore, in the past year Prada has launched two new stores in China, Prada Spirit and Prada Silver Line. And before them, Puma opened Puma City during the Volvo Ocean Race regatta for the 2008/09 season. Designed by LotEK, it was made of 24 containers assembled and dismantled to follow each phase of the event.
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translation by Olga Barmine
