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SOFTlab creates a flowery vortex for a New York City couture shoe shop

SOFTlab creates a flowery vortex for a New York City couture shoe shop

Forget about the Sharknado, New York–based designers at SOFTlab have created a vortex of flowers that has taken over one Manhattan shoe store, bringing SOFTlab’s signature parametric forms to the modern shoe brand, Melissa. The Soho store already grabbed design headlines when it opened its flagship location decked out in a custom-fabricated Corian interior by architecture firm Eight and Associated Fabrication. This latest design intervention is part of Melissa’s “We Are Flowers” campaign that used organic shapes and colors to inform its shoe line.

SOFTlab was the chief designer behind “We Are Flowers” and, as the title suggests, created a looming art installation of synthetic flowers right inside the Melissa flagship. Using bright colors and familiar natural forms, the installation creates an aesthetic meant to appeal to both shoppers and pedestrians just passing by. And with 20,000 distinct flowers, it’s difficult to miss.

The installation, as it happens, is an encompassing, immersive one that hangs over the top of the store in its entirety. This is achieved by suspending the flowery panel from a hand-bent metal frame. The underlying digitally-designed mylar structure that supports the flowers is comprised of fastened, laser-cut pieces that give the final product its curving shape. The flowers are also laser cut and individually hand-fastened to the delicate netting. The process is detailed in the installation video above.

The final product is a gleaming interior garden at Melissa that winds its way through the entire store.

The We Are Flowers installation is currently on view at Melissa’s Manhattan flagship at 102 Greene Street.

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