The prestigious IF Design Award goes to Galeria Melissa in London
The footwear brand third concept store has been awarded one of the most important awards in the world of design.
Galeria Melissa in London, the third concept store by footwear brand Melissa after São Paulo and New York, has won the prestigious IF Design Award for the Interior Architecture category.
Located in Covent Garden, the store is situated within a building arisen from a 13th century huge walled colourful garden. As the oldest of the neighbourhood, it has indeed a long history behind it. Today, its characteristics are still the original such a historical charm that offers a delightful contrast to the plasticity and brightness of Melissa.
Thanks to the creative direction of the Brazilian multimedia artist Muti Randolph, responsible of the design of Galeria Melissa in São Paulo, the store is characterized by features like movement, light, colour that give a warm welcome to the visitors. At the entrance, a huge LED screen, designed as a customizable space, receives interference as video response or can be turn into a mirror. The main entrance is also characterized by a large kinetic sculpture consisting of a large amount of acrylic boxes, which move in harmony with the background music forming new designs based on a program which thereby enhances and highlights each detail of the shoes on display. The old restored staircase leads visitors to the lower area of the store, where a great white environment/container dedicated to special fashion, art and culture movements hosts small exhibitions and presentations in support of all cultural forms of expression. In deliberate contrast with this white clean cube, a light sculpture, produced exclusively by Mutifor Gallery in London, illuminates and decorates the last room.
The common thread that unites the English capital to Melissa is not a recent one. In fact, the brand collaborates constantly with British fashion icons, including Vivienne Westwood, Kate Moss, Cara Delevingne, Anna Trevelyan and Gareth Pugh, all using, including Melissa, the same fashion language, a language that seeks what it is innovative in every aspect without disregarding the essence of their own DNA.
