The Astor Gallery is a former luxury shopping center. In 2019, the decision was made to launch a full upgrade, and to make it a more accessible, fashionable and relevant retail place in the city. Telegraph —the new department store — marked the beginning of these changes. Our task was to create an open space on the second floor of the Gallery and place dozens of brands of clothes, shoes and accessories in this open area. We consider shopping to be an emotional experience. So first of all we created a story for the new space and called it “Backstage."
Idea – Backstage
GBA 2000 sq.m.
GLA 1800 sq.m.
1 floor
The starting point for inspiration was the idea of combining a new design and partially existing finishes and equipment left over from expensive brands in the interior. To ensure that everything looked harmonious together, we came up with a stylistic concept for the interior in the Backstage style.
We wanted to create an atmosphere reminiscent of backstage preparations. This could be the backstage of a theater, a cinema and dressing rooms and of course fashion shows. Customers come to the department store to get ready, create images and select outfits. After this, they enter them the real world, like the endless stage of their lives.
The entire interior of the department store combines many different platforms. Each has its own characteristics in terms of color, material or type of equipment.
Details – Temporary and Mobile
Event space “Astoris” up to 200 people
More than 30 brands
The main place and art site of our backstage is the cash register area — we designed it to be made as the main loading / unloading point.
The interior is characterized by very mobile, collapsible objects. All the rails and tables have wheels. There are also many elements that resemble scaffolding or structural elements left over from temporary pavilions.
The walls are made of plywood to imitate the backdrop of the stage or a shooting pavilion. There are various objects of décor that seem to have been left over from various performances. There are also lighting installations, chandeliers, many different mirrors, including dressing room mirrors, vintage furniture, director's chairs, plus wrapped/packed furniture — all these different images unite in one form. They create an inspiring world of creativity and constant creation. We also wanted to allow each item to become an object behind the scenes or props for a fashion show — including the department store products. And a buyer is able to become a star, trying on different “characters.”