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Kirk Originals flagship store, London’s West End

Published: 14-Mar-2011

In the quest to create an eyewear store that breaks away from the clinical-style box of the traditional practitioner, design consultancy Campaign focuses on the unique specs

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Details

Client: Kirk Originals
Design: Campaign
Size: 66 sq m
Completion Time: Five weeks

Project Details

Ever felt like you were being watched?
Luxury eyewear brand Kirk Originals has taken its 66 sq m boutique in London’s West End and broken away from the clinical box style that seems to be the norm for opticians with a futuristic design scheme inspired by its latest collections of specs.

‘We are extremely proud and excited about the new Kirk Originals flagship store’, says Kirk Originals managing director, Jason Kirk. ‘We wanted to create a fashion store that excites the shopper, provides a unique experience and steers clear of the clinical white box of traditional opticians.’

Design practice Campaign took inspiration from fashion retail rather than optician’s outlets. Recommended by trend-forecasting agency Future Laboratory, Campaign was brought in to create a futuristic store that would give the customer a shopping experience to match the unique eyewear on display. With just five weeks and the budget of a pop-up shop, the designers put their heads together and got to work on the shop floor.

That ‘you’re being watched’ feeling starts even before entering the store, with the front window display. Lit with uplights from Microlights, it features a series of oversized lenticular prints of eyes within frames created by London-based design studio Pencilkit.

Lenticular technology is used in printing to give an image the ability to change or move as it is viewed from different angles: here it has been used to have the eyes wink at the customers as they approach the store. The spectacle-shaped frames are made of powder-coated metal and are suspended from the ceiling on threaded rods, fixed with metal plates and screws.

The store’s narrow but deep floor plate largely dictates its layout. While not an ideal shape for all retail projects, here it has been put to work with good effect, allowing a clear view into the store and to the back, where a looped kaleidoscopic projection of the Kirk Originals logo provides a point of interest to help to draw passers-by in. The attraction is reinforced with an unbroken flowing wall of product display and a chevron pattern on the floor.

The brief from the client asked that the store act as a blank canvas for the display of eyewear, so a restricted monochromatic palette and modest materials were selected, including blue-grey painted walls and the retention of the existing dark-grey slate flooring, overlaid with a chevron design and simple, adjustable spotlights from Microlights.

A statement wall running the full length of one side of the store echoes the interactive eyes of the front window, with a wall of what the designers call ‘winkies’. Also made by Pencilkit, these are white powder-coated sculptural bands each with their own pair of eyes. Each displays one style of glasses, and they can be tilted or repositioned to create clusters of eyes looking at the customer, creating a retail environment reminiscent of an art installation. They also provide the customer with an instant idea of what the eyewear could look like on, and a ready audience to the browsing and trying-on experience...

The opposite side of the store functions as a ‘trying on’ space with backlit mirrors where customers also consult with staff.

Sidestepping the expected, Campaign has crafted a space that’s definitely worth failing an eye test for.

This article was first published in fx Magazine.

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