Drawing on metaverse aesthetics, the Temp Project-designed Cher’17 boutique in Kyiv is conceived as a space of fantasy and escape.

Key features
Ukrainian luxury fashion retailer Cher’17 turned to Temp Project to design its new Kyiv flagship store. The store is organized in three distinct zones that run the length of the deep, 254-sq-m space. The space draws aesthetic cues from the digitization of fashion, borrowing from showrooms and virtual fitting rooms in the metaverse. Its entrance is organized to resemble a living room. A blue cylindrical sofa sits in front of an LED screen, which is used to display digital branded content. An adjacent boudoir room, situated on a raised platform, is closed on two out of its four sides. It is surrounded with steel clothing racks and product displays. The space is tinted in baby pink and a stone podium at the centre has taps with water and sparkling wine. Ultramarine blue floors and ceilings demarcate the third zone, which blends into the fitting room area. Mirrors and reflective metal surfaces integrated throughout provide opportunities for selfies and sharable moments.

FRAME’s take
‘Internet aesthetics are now inspiring real-world design trends,’ we reported about the impact that internet culture is having on retail design. ‘In an ironic twist, the stylistic codes and cues of 3D digital design and CGI are driving a new wave of hyper-physical retail activations.’ Using the design language of digital worlds in physical spaces signals a brand’s alignment with current trends and creates escapist environments. Patrons of Cher’17’s Kyiv flagship enter and are met with the familiarity of the digital worlds they frequent – or the novelty of those they don’t. Doses of fantasy are necessary anywhere, but especially for a crisis-stricken Kyiv, such immersive spaces can momentarily inspire and uplift.