Visual Attraction at England’s Reiss Fashion Stores

Located in most major cities in the U.K., Reiss Fashion Stores is currently undergoing a period of expansion with new stores being built and refurbishments of many existing sites. As part of this process, and to coincide with the launch of a women’s wear range, a new flagship store was designed for Soho, near Oxford Circus in London.

Lighting Scheme Complements Merchandise and Architecture

For the launch of the women’s wear range, Reiss Stores wanted to develop a dynamic and visually striking lighting concept, yet one that was flexible enough to allow for changing merchandise layouts. Also, because this is a flagship store, the client wanted to create a more progressive lighting scheme than you find at more typical retail outlets. Together with architects Lever Hopley Architects, a design was developed incorporating Martin moving head color changers that complements both the merchandise layouts and the interior architecture.

The client did not want the shop to be over lit or the lighting to produce glare problems. Due to the large amount of glazing and therefore daylight penetration, a compromise was required for lighting during daylight hours and after dark. The display lighting needed to be bright enough to overcome the ‘flat grayness’ of the daylight but not over lit at night.

MAC 300s Add Decorative Touch

There are two main architectural features in the men’s and women’s spaces. The first is suspended fiberglass screens onto which moving and color changing light patterns from Martin MAC 300 colorwash luminaires is projected. The fixtures are programmed so as not to spill colored light onto the merchandise. The design intent is to create a decorative feature within the internal space. The result allows saturated colors to filter through the translucent material, and move slowly across the architectural screens.

The second main feature was the cash desk area. Slow changing colors wash the wall behind the desk to provide an interesting focal point. The impression of the colored light patterns within the whole space is even more intense after closing when all ambient and display lighting is dimmed, providing a visual interest for people in the cafes opposite.

Campbell Design completed the lighting design while Enliten (part of the White Light Group) supplied all lighting fixtures.