Roadster, the fashion brand from online retailer Myntra (Bengaluru, India), has gone physical with its first standalone store in Bangalore, India. The 3500-square-foot, two-floor shop is an object lesson in the power of lighting and digital to offer a compelling proposition for the city’s fashion pack.
Myntra approached local design consultancy Restore Design Pvt. Ltd. (Bengaluru, India) with its request to create a space that would bring the brand ethos to life. The result is a shop intended to embody the notion of “life on the road” in the form of a garage, according to Lisa Mukhedkar, co-founder and director at Restore Design.
Mukhedkar says that lighting plays a key role in the retail experience and customer journey, starting with a larger-than-life LED-illuminated façade, which is the “voice of the store,” she says. “We wanted the façade to do more than just show the name of the brand. With a digital touch, it transforms into a medium of communication, information dissemination and inspiration for customers with bespoke content.”
Indeed, it’s the lighting, which takes its cue from stage theater lighting with banks of black-bodied spotlights on black metal gantries, and the use of neon signage as both dramatic prop and navigational aid, that really steals the show in this store. “We did iterations [of the in-store lighting] because we wanted a huge play of shadow and light. It’s a young space for denim and casual, but also we had to manage some ‘contradictions’ – garage grunge and modern-day tech,” says Mukhedkar, adding: “And so lighting was absolutely critical. To manage the multiple tasks, we used ambient light and feature lights. Only specific elements were lit in the store, the rest was left in the shadows, thus creating some drama.”
Also worth noting are the digital displays throughout the space that give shoppers the sense of an endless aisle. Other digital elements include an interactive video wall, a selfie zone featuring a chroma key screen (green screen) that gives shoppers the choice of different backgrounds for their images (reportedly a first for India), as well as the ability to scan purchases via the Myntra app, which automatically adds products to a visitor’s shopping cart.
In total, Roadster races to put Indian fashion up in front.
PROJECT SUPPLIERS
Retailer
Myntra, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Design and Architecture
Restore Design Pvt. Ltd.,
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Lighting
Focus Lighting & Fixtures Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai
Custom Lighting
Luz Light Design Studio Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India
Mannequins/Forms
Tranz Mannequins Pvt. Ltd., Bengaluru, India
Props/Decs
Creative Sourcz, Bengaluru, India
Signage/Graphics
Micro Design, Bengaluru, India
General Contractor
Storefit Projects Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India
Photography: Santhosh, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India