A Head Above the Rest, Part II

FIRST PLACE
TEMPORARY/POP-UP RETAIL SPACE
“COACH X COLETTE”
COACH, NEW YORK

Partnering with Paris-based brand Colette, Coach (New York) launched a children’s themed pop-up to take a bite out of New York’s SoHo neighborhood.

Celebrating the two brands’ collaborative capsule collection specifically geared toward kids, the pop-up showcases dinosaur characters created by Coach, like its T-Rex dubbed “Rexy,” who has become an unofficial mascot of the brand. Everything sits among a sea of blue, a direct reference to the Colette brand colors.

One of the main draws was the large, blue T-Rex “fossil” sculpture, which had to be reengineered from a standing prop into a wall-mounted piece. “One of the challenges was taking the legs out and making it look like it was realistically bursting through the wall,” says Han Kim, assistant manager, global visual creative studio, Coach. Kim worked with the production team to bend the initially straight tail so it curved out of the wall, but still allowed customers to pass underneath. And according to Samar Younes, global design director, creative environment, Coach, it became the ultimate selfie-stop.

The merchandising is supported by child-friendly fixtures with “bites” taken out of them, surrounded by coloring book wallpaper (created by Colette) equipped with markers for visitors to add their own splash of color.

“I like the playfulness of this,” says Joe Baer, co-founder, ceo, creative director, ZenGenius (Columbus, Ohio), a 2017 judge. “It’s a great merge between Colette and Coach. It’s so simple, it’s not piled high with merchandise … even the little cup on the wall with the markers urges you to touch and play and be comfortable.”

Read more about the 23rd annual International Visual Competition winners featured in VMSD's July 2017 issue by clicking here, and be sure to check vmsd.com throughout the month of July for parts III-VI of this competition coverage.

Click here to read about the 2017 Best in Show winner.