Project Overview
In many ways, this was a dream project, with two essential ingredients: a big, ambitious creative idea; and a brave client, with a real appetite to create something buzzworthy and amazing.
Shoes of Prey is a global customised women’s shoe retailer, based in Sydney. A celebrated online retailer that, until now, has operated purely in the online space. The brief was to create the very first physical store for Shoes of Prey.
When Shoes of Prey was initially presented with the creative idea, they fell in love with it. So much so, that they were prepared to double their initial budget to make it happen. A bold move that has certainly paid off for them, with the store currently trading at four times their initial target revenue.
And the store has created huge interest around the world, with plans now underway to roll out this initial store concept across Australia, and in the US and Japan.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
The General Store
Andrew Fraser, Creative Partner
Matt Newell, Strategy Partner
Tobhiyah Feller, Stukel Stone, Theatre Set Designer
Daniel Beasley, Stukel Stone, Architect
Allister Jennings, Jenningsandco, Interior Designer
Neal Sutherland, Musician
Production
Johannes Segar, MTech Solutions, Sculpture fabrication
Graham Levin, Aspen Enterprises, Shopfitters
Brendan Flook, Aspen Enterprises, Shopfitters
Shoes of Prey
Michael Fox, Co-Founder, Shoes of Prey
Jodie Fox, Co-Founder Shoes of Prey
Mike Knapp, Co-Founder Shoes of Prey
Dave Knapp, Project Manager
Helen Sham, Art Director
Project Brief
The brief was born out of an insight from consumer research:
There are lots of women who are comfortable and like the idea of designing shoes online; but there are many more who would like to, but have high levels of anxiety around the process, so are hesitant to do so.
Shoes of Prey, up till now, had been successful in appealing to a relatively small group of women: it was essentially a niche brand. In order to become a mass brand it would need to allay anxieties and to appeal to a mass audience.
To do this, we needed to satisfy the customer’s need for a physical connection to the brand: to be able to pick up the shoes, feel the leathers and try shoes on to make sure the size is right, before engaging in the process.
Project Need
Innovation lies at every level of this design project:
An essential ingredient in the success of the project was the creative team that was pulled together: an exciting and innovative mix of talent; to create an innovate piece of retail theatre. The team included a theatre set designer, an architect, an interior designer, an advertising creative director, a fashion director and a musician.
The stunning 2.4 metre high shoe sculpture dominates the David Jones shoe floor; it grabs the attention of shoppers in David Jones and has grabbed the attention of retail industry publications around the world.
This is not just a store that sells shoes. It’s a store that’s made from shoes. Most elements of the store have been created using Shoes of Prey materials. The stunning flower sculpture is made from Shoes of Prey shoes, the table is finished with Shoes of Prey's soft black leather and the ottomans are crafted using a range of materials like suede and stamped patent leather.
Whilst most of retail is currently scrambling to get online, Shoes of Prey has made an innovative and refreshing move in the other direction, into the most traditional of retail environments. It’s a compelling collaboration between a pure-play online retailer that‘s been going for less than 5 years, with a retail institution celebrating its 175th year.
Design Challenge
It takes an average of 40 minutes to design shoes using the Shoes of Prey iPad software, which presented a big challenge. We needed to, not only grab customers’ attention, but to keep stress levels low and keep people engaged throughout the customer journey:
• The central flower sculpture is the key to attracting shoppers’ attention from across the David Jones shoe floor.
• As women approach the store, their eyes are drawn to a gallery 'wall of inspiration' that features beautiful shoes designed by Shoes of Prey customers and VIPs. The inspiration wall allows customers to pick up the shoes, feel and smell the leathers and get inspired.
• A custom Shoes of Prey signature scent was created and a soundtrack was also composed, that features magical sound elements - including a sample of Hunter, the much-loved Shoes of Prey office cat!. All adding richness to the experience.
• Every detail is considered … even as the customer sits down to design their perfect shoe, they rest their arms on the faded leather work-surface, which is padded for an extra level of comfort!
There were more practical challenges too. This space was no blank canvas: it was a store-within-a-store space in a retail environment, with many rules and executional guidelines … and with only 25 square metres to play with. Sometimes it’s the briefs with the toughest parameters and restrictions that force us to be at our most creative!
The biggest challenge and most exciting opportunity, however, was to create a physical space that distils what is great and unique about this amazing brand … and bring it to life beyond the virtual world.
Sustainability
Shoes of Prey is at the forefront of a movement towards mass-customisation. They don’t try to predict what products are going to sell well next season, instead they let the consumer design exactly what they want to purchase, which is then produced and delivered direct to the customer.
In other words, Shoes of Prey don’t manufacture anything unless it’s exactly what a customer wants to purchase; and they don’t discount and sell excess stock to consumers who otherwise wouldn’t have purchased an extra pair of shoes. Shoes of Prey believe that, in the future, the majority of our fashion purchasing will be done in this way, resulting in a more considered consumerism and less waste.
Interior Design - Retail
This award celebrates innovative and creative building interiors, with consideration given to space creation and planning, furnishings, finishes and aesthetic presentation. Consideration given to space allocation, traffic flow, building services, lighting, fixtures, flooring, colours, furnishings and surface finishes.
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