‘Call Mr. wood!’ chuckles Martino Gamper on Facetime from his home country of Italy, when musing on his second collaborative project with Prada – a perspective-playing pop-up space titled ‘Hideaway’ at London’s Harrods. The Wallpaper* Design Award winner, who also created a limited edition cover for our April 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*217), first partnered with the Milanese label in 2015. The resultant ‘Corner’s’ was a global window display concept, rolled out to over 300 boutiques, celebrating the humble nook, using graphic installations formed from oak, maple and ebony.
Prada Hideaway concept image by Kajsa Ståhl of Åbäke
‘[Prada CEO] Patrizio Bertelli is also really interested in materiality,’ adds Gamper of the tactile focus on the immersive installation, which created from poplar, wraps around 90 sq m of Harrods’ ground floor. Evolving the concept of ‘Corners’ the installation forms a labyrinth of different walls and oblique shelves, where luxurious items from Prada’s A/W 2020 collection are displayed. These include soft cashmere sweaters and leather shoppers, quilted jackets and suiting. ‘We’ve continued the journey from a different angle,’ Gamper – whose often creates furniture with the corner in mind - adds. ‘This time, there’s more focus on perspectives.’
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After receiving Prada’s commission, Gamper hopped on a train to San Zeno, where in it’s extensive Design Archive, 1:1 versions of all its retail projects and shop windows are housed, alongside architectural models, and a library of research materials, including wood, stone and glass. ‘It allowed me to get a real sense of the space, and visualise the Hideaway concept in 3D’, Gamper explains. ‘We wanted to treat the project as a full scale installation, rather than simply designing a white cube with pieces of furniture inside it.’
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