Following the opening of its first boutique at home base Zurich in 2014, Viu has rapidly expanded its retail operations in Switzerland and abroad. Initially targeting Germany with a number of outposts in major cities, soon after the eyewear brand has planted flags in Vienna, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and now also in Europe’s leading shopping mecca London. The company picked a location in Soho, one of the city’s most popular shopping zones, where it occupies an 850 sq.ft. (80 sqm.) ground floor space, featuring an interior design by Viu‘s creative director Fabrice Aeberhard. As in any Viu store, its signature display walls take centre stage, and here, it’s captured by dark anthracite stone which covers two opposite walls. The display walls are designed as such that they’re seemingly floating, and being backlit at the bottom, it optically enlarges the space. Interestingly, slabs of mirror not only cover certain wall sections, but also the entire ceiling. and adds another spatial effect. The austerity of the stone walls is counterbalanced by soft pink concrete flooring and a back wall in the same hue. Furnishings are sparse, comprising merely of a chunky desk and stools by the window and a similar setting at the far end of the store. The new Viu store carries the brand’s full range of sunglasses and frames for prescription glasses.
Viu
5 Upper James Street (Soho)
London W1F 9DG
Telephone: +44 20 38686076
Mon-Sat 10-7
Sun 11-6
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
