Een mooi voorbeeld van branding en spatial design vind je bij het Franse modemerk Louis Vuitton (het hoofdmerk van LVMH). In Tokyo, New York, Hong Kong en uiteraard in Parijs zijn mooie voorbeelden te vinden van vertalingen van de kenmerkende productlijn naar de architectuur, zowel in de gevel als in het interieur.

Ik las een interessant interview met architect Eric Carlson (de voormalige eindverantwoordelijke van de interne LV Architecture Department) in Boutiques and other retail spaces, The architecture of seduction, van David Vernet en Leontine de Wit (Routledge, 2007). Ik heb er enkele citaten uitgehaald.

Eric Carlson: ‘Previously, at LV the strategy was to develop an image and repeat it everywhere. Back then everybody thought it was the best way to communicate brand identity: from petrol stations to McDonald’s to fashion labels and so on. Even though there was less global travel, it was comforting for people to find brands portrayed in the same way everywhere they went. But things have changed. We’re more sophisticated. We travel more. We come in contact with more things more often, through magazines or various forms of communication. And so we want more.’

From repetition to variety with the same brand elements

‘(…)The façade – something of an architectural by-product of the commercial strategy – became the first element of experimentation. And because of building, cultural and historical constraints, as well as budget issues in different zones and different profit margins, the same façade cannot be repeated everywhere. Independently, and at a separate pace, the increase in surface area affected our store interiors as well. The previously homogenous, one-floor volumes were no longer valid, and new architectural elements, such as stairs, became important. (…)All of a sudden what used to be an interior cookie-cutter concept encountered the need for variety, in terms of architecture, and became an opportunity to express brand identity.

(…)For practical reasons usually linked to building regulations, the façade often needs to be designed before the retail space. Exterior and interior are separate projects. More limitations are imposed on the interior, because a certain level of repetition is needed to create a consistent environment and space that reflects the history of the company.’

LV choses for layered façades

‘One reason for choosing a layered façade emerged from the idea of doing something different from what our competitors have done. Everybody is doing glass or stone façades, and we wanted to introduce the notion of texture, which is what LV products are all about. But an even earlier and basically conceptual reason is that a double façade has allowed us to create mystery, a dreamlike atmosphere based on visual distortion. It’s a very perceptual thing. The façade is tangible but not concrete. It’s hard to speculate on its dept or materiality.

(…) The Nagoya project lent a new direction to LV architecture. We encourage architects to look at what’s been done and to take it to the next level without hesitation. The Nagoya moiré glass façade, for example, inspired our design of the woven-metal and mosaic-tile façade for Seoul, which in turn inspired Aoki’s design of the woven-metal-mesh and polished-metal façade in Omotesando.’

‘(…) In the world of retail – of luxury retail – there are many criteria, very specific demands and an incredibly dense filter of constraints. (…) It is not easy to produce good architecture with all these constraints. It’s extremely hard, and for years and years heavy constraints precluded a real connection between design, architects and commercial retail architecture. Today, business people see the advantage of such a connection, and architects have found ways to manage all these variables. You see it happening. Retail design is a new, functional typology that’s gradually attracting more and more architects. It’s exciting.

I also want to stress, however, the practical side of a luxury retailer’s commercial dealings and operations. A store has to function. It has to make money. Its architecture has to be interesting and not just ‘architecture for architecture’s sake’. The danger we’re seeing today is too many architects doing facades and regarding interiors as leftover spaces that need little attention. As a result, there’s no connection between exterior and interior.’

Duidelijk is dat Carlson hiervoor wil waken. Samen met zijn bureau Carbondale wil hij bruggen slaan tussen vormgeving, retail branding, sales en architectuur. En ik ben het met hem eens dat binnen de retail, deze verschillende vakgebieden elkaar steeds vaker vinden. En de handen ineen slaan. Maar daarbuiten?