Independent expression and creative freedom in retail
For outerwear brand Moose Knuckles, a desire to engage with customers beyond wholesale led to their transition into proprietary retail shops. Their first store, in Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre, had to personify the idiosyncratic brand for customers in unapologetic pursuit of independent expression and creative freedom.
Interior Designer: Diego Burdi, ARIDO
Design Team: Tom Yip, ARIDO
Design Firm: Burdifilek
Project Photographer: Ben Rahn
The Canadian retailer enlisted Burdifilek to capture the brand's attitude in visceral moments of expression. Eschewing traditional design cues in retail for a modern rebellion in this showroom-meets-experience concept, that has now become extremely popular. Daring to be open and unexpected, the anti-brand space redefines opulence from the entrance, where the view into the store is purposefully obstructed by a steel form disguising the cashpoint and change room. Constraining views into the shop drives curiosity and sets the tone for the rest of the customer experience.
Limited edition products are displayed as a silhouette against a glowing backdrop along one side of the shop while the opposite wall is wrapped in cold-rolled steel for the depth of its industrial properties.
Coats hang from a central rack, wrapped in fur and hung by leather straps from the ceiling. The shadowed contents of an exposed stockroom quietly add intrigue throughout the rest of the store. The strong juxtaposition of the manufactured garments versus organic polish accentuates the beauty of Moose Knuckles’ products.
This unique space exists to unify their customer base, where the open concept store becomes a place for conversation and community, for bonds to form and accidental synergies arise.
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