Yellow Earth
If shopping is equivalent to ‘therapy’, then the experience of walking into a store whose design corresponds specifically to the range of products sold there imparts an even richer experience. Much like the case of Yellow Earth flagship store in Melbourne, Australia- a store whose interiors intends to leave one warm and wide eyed.
Designed by TANDEM, this retail outlet is an assemblage of unique and playful elements. The interiors go hand in hand with what the store sells, woolen apparels and ugg boots. This associative character of the space indirectly insinuates the brand’s concept and identity in the minds of shoppers. Shoppers carve their way through a series of spaces formed or curtained with veils of woolen ropes. One look around and you’ll find a cloud of sheepskin boots and patches featuring Sean Morris’s Melbourne street art.
The material palette involves knitted yarn ropes, sheepskin, timber wool sheds and steel cables and frames, all suspended or clad to build a surreal atmosphere. This is reminiscent of the tanneries and stitching rooms, where the merchandise has been produced and processed. The installations of suspended ropes and skin around specific pause points, create nooks encircling interactive sit-outs to offer transparent and tactile stimuli. The racks and shelves also blend along with the other stylized elements as a continual backdrop.
With a characteristic ambiance of wire frames processed from ropes, the store offers an immersive experiential atmosphere. This is an instance of retail design whereby the store itself acts as a supportive mechanism which elaborates the philosophy and traits of the brand and its merchandise.
Architects: TANDEM design studio
Location: Melbourne VIC, Australia
Director : Tim Hill, James Murray
Architect : Ken Nguyen
Graduate Architect: Kirilly Barnett
Area: 180.0 sqm
Project Year: 2014
Photographs: Nic Granleese