PROJECT 1 : Burlington Arcade and Chrisitan Louboutin

I know, I know. I'm such a bad blogger and I have been neglecting my blog really bad over the last couple of weeks. But I am here to share with you all why I have been so M.I.A. For our first project, we have closely been working with Household Design Agency, investigating the retail design industry. The client for our project is the legend of the Red Sole, Chrisitian Louboutin!

We shall be redesigning and exploring the interior of the N Peal store allocated in the Burlington Arcade, one of London's everlasting destinations in the heart of Mayfair and transforming it into a new visual sensation for the Loboutin brand.

Now we all know how adventurous and rebellious Christian can be. I mean thats how the Red Sole came in to context. It was a trip to a museum that had him intrigued in designing a shoe that 'broke the rules'. There was a sign in the museum that had barred woman from wearing stilettos, so they wouldn't scratch the surface. The image of the 'forbidden shoe' stuck with him and he wanted to design a shoe that would help woman feel confident and empowered.
Following his footsteps, I also wanted to 'break the rules' and stay away from using the predictable red colour scheme for my design. Our brief looks at investigating the language of desire and using our research, mood boards and illustrations to describe a narrative story that has a connection with the brand and historical references, which lead me into looking at the characteristics of his beloved city, Paris.

 The initial design process started by looking at the burlesque scene (linking it back to the philosophy of 'Le Palace') Although the burlesque scene is too sultry for the Louboutin brand, I have decided to take some elements from it such as the antique glass mirrors, the exaggerated chandeliers and incorporate that into the development of the interior. Above is a mood board of what kind of decor I am trying to explore. Looking at darker tones, soft fabrics and lighting.

I then started to look at Parisian architecture. Focusing on the rustic elements of French design such as steel curved staircases and their beautiful wooden carved panels. As it is a shoe store, for shelving I thought of using the curves from the wooden carved panels, elongating it placing the shoes on it. This is a process that I still need to develop on through illustrations and elevations. Overall the store itself will have a sense of a French chateau, imitating perhaps the interior of the Versailles. Concentrating on connecting the brand with the interior through the use of glamour and importance.

Over the next few weeks I will be working on illustrations for the interior through the use of both hand illustrations and computer rendering programmes eg, AutoCad.
It is going to be a long process along with sleepless nights but none the less I am excited to see where my hard work will take me and I look forward to sharing with you all the design process of this project!