softgrey
flaunt the imperfection
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Friday, April 08, 2005
Viktor & Rolf Turns Retailing on Its Head
By Miles Socha and Luisa Zargani
The floor on the ceiling ... and the ceiling on the floor.
MILAN — Leave it to Viktor & Rolf to literally turn designer retailing on its head.
The Dutch design wizards’ first signature shop just opened here with an upside-down decor that has oak parquet on the ceiling and chandeliers sprouting out of the floor.
“We wanted to give a new perspective on a shop,” said Viktor Horsting who, with Rolf Snoeren, designs one of the most conceptual collections in the business. “You really enter into a surrealistic world, the Viktor & Rolf world, where nothing is what it seems to be.”
Architect Siebe Tettero, who worked with the two designers on their stately new headquarters in Amsterdam, said that, when they approached him with their need to “twist the classic,” he opted to revisit the neoclassical style, which he described as the most “recognizable and familiar” design.
The TV set showing the designers’ runway show is also upside down, encased in a white cabinet modeled after an 18th-century Swedish tiled stove. In each of the two rooms, there is a fireplace flanked by chairs, with mirrors above them.
“Well, underneath them, in this case,” Horsting corrected.
As reported, the designers recently inked new licensing agreements for shoes, underwear, silk scarves and neckties.
But the Milan boutique represents the first time all the designers’ products will be housed under one roof — or should we say, above?
The boutique also provides an opportunity to sell some of the “couture” pieces featured by Viktor & Rolf in every runway show — and other special designs.
excerpt from wwd...
Viktor & Rolf Turns Retailing on Its Head
By Miles Socha and Luisa Zargani
The floor on the ceiling ... and the ceiling on the floor.
MILAN — Leave it to Viktor & Rolf to literally turn designer retailing on its head.
The Dutch design wizards’ first signature shop just opened here with an upside-down decor that has oak parquet on the ceiling and chandeliers sprouting out of the floor.
“We wanted to give a new perspective on a shop,” said Viktor Horsting who, with Rolf Snoeren, designs one of the most conceptual collections in the business. “You really enter into a surrealistic world, the Viktor & Rolf world, where nothing is what it seems to be.”
Architect Siebe Tettero, who worked with the two designers on their stately new headquarters in Amsterdam, said that, when they approached him with their need to “twist the classic,” he opted to revisit the neoclassical style, which he described as the most “recognizable and familiar” design.
The TV set showing the designers’ runway show is also upside down, encased in a white cabinet modeled after an 18th-century Swedish tiled stove. In each of the two rooms, there is a fireplace flanked by chairs, with mirrors above them.
“Well, underneath them, in this case,” Horsting corrected.
As reported, the designers recently inked new licensing agreements for shoes, underwear, silk scarves and neckties.
But the Milan boutique represents the first time all the designers’ products will be housed under one roof — or should we say, above?
The boutique also provides an opportunity to sell some of the “couture” pieces featured by Viktor & Rolf in every runway show — and other special designs.
excerpt from wwd...
come on, let's blink.. 
It's such a simple idea it's strange no-one else has done it 
but so effective. Thanks for the pics Softgrey 
