As autumn approaches, even the walls are putting on a cosy coat. Patrik Ervell uses raw construction materials to create a beautifully textured display window for the Opening Ceremony store. Designed in collaboration with Joseph Whang, the temporary retail installation consists of wall panels made of wood and pink fibreglass insulation foam, with two glass vitrines containing Ervell’s Autumn/Winter 2017 collection. Arranged in a grid that recalls modernist art, the intriguing concept actually served as inspiration for the pink puffer jacket on display in one of the vitrines, which in turn has now been incorporated into the space.

The cohesive and circular spatial design compels the viewer to reconsider divisions between beauty and utility, building on a theme prevalent in Ervell’s work of exploring the multiplicity of industrial materials by employing them in unexpected contexts. Integrating the repurposed fibreglass insulation – a material that’s usually hidden – into a central feature of the store design does more than reinforce the palette and fabrics of the collection.

The cotton-candy-coloured foam provides texture that contrasts with the smooth concrete flooring, the minimal furniture pieces, and the slender wood panels that grid the erratic pink material. The restrained flooring in natural wood and grey concrete provides a neutral backdrop that allows the feature wall to draw the attention, simultaneously highlighting the pink jacket alongside it. The resulting display embodies a clean and high-end aesthetic through the unexpected exposure of pink insulation.

Design: Patrik Ervell and Joseph Whang
Photography: Brayden Olson

https://www.frameweb.com/news/its-not-shearling-the-surprising-industrial-material-in-opening-ceremony-store