Best in Show: “Levi’s Paris ICON Store”

2025 INTERNATIONAL VISUAL COMPETITION AWARDS

In-Store Apparel Presentation

VMSD’S INTERNATIONAL VISUAL Competition (now in its 32nd year) continually proves the positive impact of visual merchandising and retail design of a temporary nature through its robust submissions spanning the globe. This year’s Best-in-Show winner, “Levi’s Paris ICON Store,” helped support this notion through its impeccable in-store apparel presentation and visual merchandising, elevated through thoughtful design details, such as its ceiling hue reminiscent of the retailer’s classic 501 denim jeans.

“The store’s design and merchandising are thoughtfully centered around fit, guiding customers seamlessly to discover their ideal size, silhouette and wash before immersing them in the finer details of each piece,” explains Faith Huddleston, Studio Design Leader, Retail, NELSON Worldwide.

The customer journey begins with an array of mannequins and exhibition displays sporting stylized looks. Farther into the space, the 501 Vault houses the story behind the brand’s most well-known apparel lines. This includes vintage pieces on display, the story of how 501 jeans are made and their lifecycle. A tailor shop offers repair and personalization, and digital displays throughout engage visitors. Inspired by the raw aesthetic of denim and its deep hues, the space is a striking blue with a blend of curves and straight lines.

Levi’s Paris ICON store includes curated VM alongside design details like its ceiling hue celebrating denim.

“The Levi’s store at 44 Champs-Elysees in Paris showcases what’s possible for a brand when we push our creative boundaries and explore new expressions of our retail store design,” says Jesse Moyer, Director, Global Store Design, Levi Strauss & Co. “For this store environment, we started with our Indigo concept and pushed it in new directions: What if we leaned in on the spectrum of blues inherent in our signature product? What if we softened the architecture with curves and swoops to complement the modularity and rectilinear forms of our fixtures? The result delivered a best-in-class branded retail experience for our consumers on a premier shopping street in Paris.”

Sustainability was a big factor in the overall design, with all materials specified to include recyclable elements. Local artists and artisans were tapped to create features like a custom mural and bespoke fixtures (e.g., wooden slats with curved ends dipped in blue). Other fine details include accent lighting/lines of light (designed by Windward Lighting Studio) mimicking the stitching found in denim.

Like many successful projects, the result couldn’t have been achieved without the teams working in sync, says Huddleston. “Our teams worked together so closely, and it was a true collaboration. The Levi’s team was really the blue thread throughout this entire project,” she says.

PHOTO GALLERY (10 IMAGES)
📷: LEVI’S