If you ask us, modern Czech design is rather underexposed despite a long and rich history which dates back to the early 20th-century. With roots in this creative legacy, graphic designer and design entrepreneur Jan Kloss, and journalist and curator Darina Zavadilová share a combined wealth of experience in design and art, and eventually founded footwear brand PÁR in 2020. The entrepreneurial duo, also partners in life, invited Eliška Horčíková, a designer who has honed her skills at Spanish footwear brand Camper, to create the shoe designs, and the production is done in Portugal with sustainable principles in mind. Taking their operations to a new level, the founders have opened PÁR‘s first retail space in Staré Město, the historic heart of Prague. The store occupies a ground floor unit of an ornate monumental building by architect Václav Vítězslav Chytrý (1865-1917), and the interior design is a joint effort of Kloss with Jakub Pollág. The latter is co-founder of architecture and design practice Studio deFORM, but was also collaborator in a previous shoe venture.
Clean and understated, the 50 sqm. (538 sq.ft.) retail space sees floor-to-ceiling grids of red cardboard shoe boxes lining the walls and even covering the front of the sales counter. One side, the grid features a horizontal cut-out with shelving, while opposite circular display sections are interspersed. A strategically placed mirror optically doubles the grid and enlarges the store. But the true eye-catcher undoubtedly is Lasvit‘s futuristic crystal chandelier, designed by revered glass artist René Roubíček (1922-2018). PÁR shoes combine of a soft and flexible upper, which refers to the classic moccasin construction, with dynamically shaped sneakers outsole creates a visually unorthodox silhouette and unique character. Mind you, the shoes are a reflection of the duo’s experienced in music and art, through design, architecture, and even trips overseas. the PÁR new store carries the brand’s full collection. A second store has also opened its doors in Žižkov, a lively neighbourhood east of the historic heart of the city.
PÁR
ulice Skořepka 4 (Staré Město)
110 00 Prague 1
Mon-Sat 12pm-7pm
Sun 12pm-5pm
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.
