Architects and designers SHH have created a new retail concept called "Lotus" for Danish fashion and accessories brand Evita Peroni, which will debut in two brand new stores in November 2006 in the new Dubai Festival Centre mall and the Festival Walk mall in Hong Kong.
Evita Peroni is an independent, fashion accessories retail brand, created and owned by the Deichmann family, who started out in the fashion accessories business in 1963 in Denmark, going on to create the highly successful Evita Peroni brand for affordable luxury accessories in 1988. Evita Peroni now has franchisees and distributors for over 300 stores and concessions in over 30 countries worldwide, including outlets in Europe, Asia, the Far East, the Middle East, South Africa, North and South America (and with company-owned flagship outlets within the Illum department store in Copenhagen, as well as in Festival Walk, Hong Kong). Negotiations for the franchise in the UK are currently being undertaken and Evita Peroni is expected to be launched in the UK in 2007.
The company is known for its high-quality products, which range from fashion jewels and eyewear to hair accessories and handbags, as well as for its specialised in-store style consultants, who show customers how to put together looks and use the products, with the strapline "change your look as quickly as your mood".
Evita Peroni appointed SHH directly and without a pitch, after seeing a number of UK agencies, to create a new interiors concept, with a brief to design an environment and display systems for the products that would reflect the quality of the merchandise itself and would be flexible enough to be applicable internationally in a range of different-sized stores and concessions.
SHH developed a slick, glamorous and highly flexible kit of parts for Evita Peroni which can be adapted to any size store, whether standalone or a concession. Matt, glossy and textured black and white elements give the environment a highly chic monochrome look, offset with a strong feature green element, taken from the logo and used sparingly throughout. Large-scale graphics add drama and allow for seasonal variation. The new design elements simplify the treatment of the stores and reduce the number of parts in the display systems, whilst at the same time bringing about a more prestigious profile for the retailer within the luxury market.
The new "Lotus" concept will roll out gradually around the retailer's existing and new outlets, beginning with the new Dubai and Hong Kong shopping centre outlets this autumn.
The pictured Dubai store (see accompanying images) is a 68 sq m store with a glazed frontage opening onto the mall. The Evita Peroni logo (unchanged) has been applied to the fascia in a stainless steel outline with internally-illuminated opal and green acrylic fronts. Below the logo, a mirrored-backed film with a bespoke floral pattern, devised by SHH exclusively for Evita Peroni, has been used across the storefront to create visual interest and create a link with the feature wallpaper used internally for the back wall (Tektura papers with tone on tone raised patterns in black and luminescent off-white).
The new store window display system is made up of black timber with high-gloss white glazing and integrated lighting and is highly flexible. It can be used to house graphics or to display single, high-end pieces of jewellery or bags, but is simultaneously a very open piece of furniture, allowing views right through to the back of the store. The system easily allows for the monthly change in Evita Peroni unique decoration packages, provided to all stores around the world, which ensure a constantly fresh display and product offering.
The display system treatment is extended to the instore units, which take the form of individual units, gondolas, wall bays and feature wall bays. Each unit is broken down so that there is an area for feature luxury and high fashion items as well as areas for more densely-merchandised products. The black timber and high gloss white glazing treatment is supplemented with textured, off-white, vinyl ribbed wallpaper insets (by Vescom) for a more tactile, feminine element and, in some instances, a thin inset green line, referencing the logo.
Some units are branded and some not, so that the application remains subtle and sparing. A brand new unit has also been devised for the new Just-a-Luxury eyewear display, using an elegant and simple display system with a lifestyle graphic at the top and a series of glass shelves to display the exclusive products, which use Italian acetate, laser cutting and Swarowski crystals. The base of each unit houses stock storage space so that there is as little stock as possible back of house, allowing for a reduced back-of-house area and a larger retail floor space. The final type of unit is a series of display plinths of varying heights, either open at the top or with lockable glazed covers.
The till unit is also bespoke, made up of two 700mm-wide modules and a longer unit to add in a display element. The cash desk reverses the overall treatment of the units, with a white gloss exterior treatment to the panels. It is more ergonomic than its lower predecessor and is set at bar height. It is also lockable and has an integrated storage area.
SHH have introduced large-scale lifestyle and product photographics within the stores (uniquely developed for and by Evita Peroni), including a full floor-to-ceiling height graphic directly behind the cash desk to break the space up. Walls will be single colour tonal wallpapers, some matt and some gloss in either cream or black. Graphics will change seasonally but will always be to a reasonably dark and moody brief so as to sit well within the interiors treatment. Additional graphics are high-level and backlit.
Flooring is black high gloss tiling (but will be sand-coloured in certain stores) and the ceiling rafts are similarly black with flush fittings so that light disappears effectively at a high level but does its job well on the shopfloor. Feature pendant lights in a strong green reference the green "A" of the Evita Peroni logo.
Demonstration areas are very important to the Evita Peroni concept. The demonstration area within the store takes the form of a plasma screen with fashion shows and styling films featuring the season's collection running on a loop, as well as an area where customers can sit on high bar stools in front of a mirror and be styled or learn how to style themselves, with a member of staff doing live demonstrations.
Camilla Deichmann, International Director of Evita Peroni commented on the new designs: "With the new Lotus store design, our beautiful collections now finally get the retail environment they deserve. It's a perfect match and communicates very clearly what we are about: fashion, style and high quality: a touch of luxury, presented in an approachable and achievable manner with focus on personalised customer service and advice."