Founded only six years ago in Alicante by Fran Marchena et Luis Miguel Botella, sustainable sneaker brand HOFF – mind you, that’s actually an acronym for ‘Hall of Fame’, and chosen to reflect the brand’s drive to provide good footwear design to all instead of a happy few – has resonated well in the Spanish home market and abroad. But it’s in the homeland where HOFF has set up its first branded stores, and following a string of outposts in Spain‘s leading cities, the brand’s retail focus has shifted back to Barcelona where a second boutique has opened its doors. Occupying an elongated 165 sqm. (1,776 sq.ft.) unit on the ground floor of a large residential 1880s building alongside the bustling Rambla de Catalunya artery, this location can rely on an abundance of foot traffic. The interior design, created by Valencia-based creative studio CuldeSac, takes cues from HOFF‘s colourful, energetic and art-infused brand identity.
The result is a interplay of both lines and shapes, and colours and materials, resulting in playful settings that inspires shoppers to explore. The front section captures the design codes best, featuring a quarter-circular plane in bright yellow, dotted with shiny metal displays in different curvaceous forms, which corresponds with a fluid ceiling cut-out revealing a grid. On one side, recessed wall shelves extend all the way to the back of the store, beyond an alcove where more of HOFF‘s coveted designs are put on display. Interestingly, the polished design embeds unexpected rough edges, most notably the plaster trowel technique on the other side wall in the store’s front section. The far end, where both the apparel is displayed and the fitting rooms can be found, is captured by painted fiberglass designed by a Fallero artist from Valencia. The new HOFF store carries the brand’s full range of men’s and women’s sneakers, bags, accessories and apparel.
HOFF
Rambla de Catalunya 111 (L’Eixample)
08008 Barcelona
Telephone: +34 635 641642
Mon-Sat 10.30am-8.30pm
Sun 12pm-8pm
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.
