Sportswear behemoth adidas has upped its retail game with the inauguration of a striking new store in Los Angeles. Situated on Melrose Avenue, a fashionable thoroughfare in West Hollywood, the retail space occupies no less than 448 sqm. (4,822 sq.ft.) on the premises of a low-rise structure built in 1948. The store’s interior design, a collaborative effort of the adidas in-house design team, London-based retail design agency Checkland Kindleysides and American practice TPG Architecture, is both experimental and a statement, signalling adidas’ new creative direction. Taking ample cues from the buzzing vibe of neighbourhood, the store features tinted window glass which add a hint of mystery, but once inside, shoppers find themselves in understated yet also industrial and playful shopping grounds.

The adidas store comprises two distinct gallery-style spaces, and the one where shoppers enter the premises is anchored by a glass-encased lab presenting a specially curated range of adidas merchandise. The lab, situatred in the middle of the space, is flanked by a wide array suspended clothing racks, displays, and the occasional glorified sports prop. The adjacent room has a major feature of its own in the form of three seemingly floating beams in a glossy bright red hue that break the setting’s demure material and colour palette. Polished concrete flooring, and overhead, an exposed ceiling and support beams clad in silvery space age foil, unify the two rooms. The living room-like changing spaces are another notable design element. © superfuture