RETAIL MEETS TRADE FAIR: PAF ATELIER BUILDS OUT BESPOKE MERCHANDISING TOOLS FOR EXHIBITION
Photo Christopher Barrajas
02 jun 2022, for frame
Location
Rue de l'Ecuyer 50, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium
Design
Paf Atelier reimagined an exhibition system originally made for fashion retail for Brussels’s Collectible Fair.
Key features
The Belgian capital’s Vanderborght Building served as the venue for the fifth edition of Collectible Fair, which took place in May. French studio Paf Atelier presented five showcase structures designed to display products and objects for the collectible-design event. The tailor-made space – comprising four standing elements and one suspended – was wrapped in orange blinds, creating a backlit screen wherein metal reacted to light and colour. Consisting of geometrical parts forged from stainless steel and joined by industrial bolts, the system integrates LED neon lights.
First commissioned by French fashion brand Iro, the series of metallic fixtures was created initially for visual merchandising. Their design draws on Iro’s aesthetic references, like modernist architecture, American metropolis skylines and robotic dancers. Paf Atelier’s vision behind the collection hones in on the idea of continuous deprogramming and reprogramming for new functionality.
Frame's take
Redesigned for the context of Collectible Fair, the Iro system reached a different level of purpose, illustrating the heart of Paf Atelier’s intention for the design. The series is not only a flexible and aesthetically pleasing exhibition system that might be used for any retail or curated presentation, but a curated design object in itself. It’s a contribution that illustrates the contemporary notion of the fluid transfer of knowledge and skills between before separated domains of commercial retail design and curatorial practices and museum studies.