Nicola Formichetti Pop Up Store

September will bring New York City a pop-up store like its never seen! Gage / Clemenceau Architects is collaborating on the design and production of the pop-up with Nicola Formichetti, Fashion Director for Lady Gaga, Creative Director for Mugler as well as fashion stylist to Uniqlo, MAC and V Magazine (talk about a resume!).

The concept of the store is the fusion between architecture and fashion manifested into a physical environment. The pop up will be housing the latest of Formichetti’s work but will also include several original ensambles he has designed for Lady Gaga who has worn them in her performances and various red-carpet events. The team at Gage says they are "attempting to produce a new genre of experimental space that not only showcases, but magnifies the impact of his fashion designs into a new form of  immersive environment that fuses the very genetics of architecture and fashion." The space will take on a sculptural and artistic approach just like the garments.

The team explained that "the installation is comprised of hundreds of robotically cut, mirrored facets, mounted to lightweight composite structural backing.  These individual reflective facets are hung from the ceilings and walls, and attached to the flooring. Each facet is attached to its neighbors using a system of precisely bent aluminum clips.  Large sheets of mirrored, abrasion-resistant, plastic sheets cover the floor and help to produce an endlessly reflective environment that refracts the clothing so that it can be viewed from a variety of unexpected perspectives.  In this installation fashion is no longer an object that sits within a minimal architectural box. Instead, clothing becomes an active participant in a new type of environment that combines the spatial and optical aspects of architectural design with the temporary, ephemeral and fluidly beautiful forms found only in the worlds of high fashion."

This  installation project is being organized through a non-profit organization, Boffo, that has a mission to inform the public about design and architecture through innovative exhibitions, installations and events. The store will open to the public September 8th, but only for a short time, so don't put it off New Yorkers!

(Photo Credits: Gage / Clemenceau Architects)