Level Shoe District
The world’s biggest shoe store, in the world’s mega mall.
Location
Dubai Mall, UAE
Sector
Retail
What we did
Micro Architecture, FF&E, Interior Design
This is retail theatre on a grand scale, inspired by The Great Exhibition. With a blank canvas of this magnitude, only bold, immersive retail design will do. This is not a store, or a department, but a ‘District’ that disrupts the norm. A celebration of shoes of epic proportion.
With a space of this scale, the challenge was to break it down into distinct environments, each with its own identity. Seamlessly connected for an immersive, multi-layered experience that took retail design to new heights.
Connect product and place. By designing a series of pavilion-style environments, the space naturally guides shoppers towards the array of shoes displays, each one anchored to its own surroundings.
A series of pavilions that reflected the spirit, aesthetic and material palette of the product itself. This approach allowed for a seamless movement between different shoes category environments. It was disruptive but also paradoxically brought order to the vast volume of retail space.
At 96,000 sq feet in size (9000sqm), Level Shoe District became a luxury footwear destination like no other. With over 250 shoe designers and 40 in-store boutiques including Dior, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Christian Louboutin and Saint Laurent to name a few.
'LUXURY'
The approach was to marry products to place. It was imperative for the shopper to intuitively move towards ‘their’ product choice via a series of ‘pavilion’ based environments which anchored the shopper. The Luxury pavilion led the way.
The Luxury category drew on a hyper elegance in form and finish. A one stop shop for occasion, wedding and work shoes.
'Designer'
‘Designer’ pavilion was altogether darker and explicitly more confident. Rich purples and gunmetal cuts through the more deluxe finishes elsewhere. Without the product this pavilion could have been Dubai’s new favourite nightclub.
Arguably the most avant-guard of all the pavilions, this space was encased in dramatic blackened metal walls, making a bold, uncompromising design statement.
'TREND'
If ‘Designer’ was dark and clubby then ‘Trend’ is a lunar landscape of marble mountains and bronze boulders. A sister timber dome anchors the pavilion at the core of the space. Hints of colour pop with the coolest product selections.
A focus on originality and innovation pushes the creative boundaries of this space to craft a retail shoe experience like no other.
