HERBERT LEVINE’S POP UP, Istanbul
Client: Herbert Levine
Type: Retail
Services: Concept, spatial design, bespoke furniture
Ph: BEYMEN
Location: Istanbul, BEYMEN
THE CLIENT
Herbert Levine is an American luxury footwear maison founded in New York in 1948. Under Beth Levine’s creative direction, it redefined the twentieth-century woman’s shoe with sculptural, experimental designs worn by First Ladies and screen icons such as Marilyn Monroe. Today the brand returns, its history reinterpreted with sculptural refinement, cinematic glamour and surreal elegance.
THE CHALLENGE
The brand asked for a travelling installation across three BEYMEN, with a dynamic product display, a seat for trying on shoes, a domestic allure and the maison’s retro language. Beymen’s guidelines were strict: a narrow 114 × 453 cm area in a high-traffic corridor, a maximum height of 160 cm, no back walls, no fixings to floor, walls or ceiling, and no power supply.
THE SOLUTION
We conceived a single long, narrow volume that brings every function together: an upholstered bench at the centre, backed by a curved wall carrying the logo, and behind it a stepped display recalling the profile of a bookcase. The shoes sit on several levels, along the stepped platform and on fluted cylindrical plinths that evoke ancient columns. A bamboo lamp with a fabric shade adds a domestic touch that softens the department store and invites customers to linger.
The reference is Betty Joel’s furniture, from which come the stepped configuration and the rounded corners of every volume, a soft and openly feminine language. The whole is a system of freestanding blocks, assembled without fixings and moved from one location to the next.
MATERIALS AND PALETTE
The volumes are wrapped in a mirror-polished burl-effect film, with the logo in red; the plinths are in matt ivory lacquer. A deep red carpet defines the perimeter and recalls the Hollywood red carpet, while the ivory bench cushion with red piping picks up the same palette. Burl, ivory and red compose a retro combination inspired by mid-century American interiors.
OUR ROLE
Concept, design, technical drawings and renderings. Production was entrusted to the local contractor appointed by Beymen and coordinated remotely by the studio. The design phase took one week; from brief to installation, one month.
RESULTS
Both BEYMEN and the brand were very satisfied with the project. The installation is demountable and accompanies the brand across three locations over a six-month programme.
