Storytelling in 3-Dimensions — a story that unfolds as you walk through a space — has been the rocket fuel of my career ever since I started — I’ve long believed that Story is what makes a Space a Place.
I worked with Radical Media as Creative Director / Design Director for the Chanel N°5 In A New Light pop-up exhibition. We transformed a glass box retail building under the High Line Park at 14th Street into a multi-sensory environment to bring the centennial celebration of the iconic perfume to life and connect visitors emotionally through all of their senses to the legacy of the brand.
The exhibit gallery concept was inspired by the iconic 8-sided Chanel bottle cap with an interactive journey inside for visitors to learn about the creation of the world’s first designed perfume. The exterior of the faceted space was wrapped in floor-to-ceiling video walls — drawing visitors inside with vibrant animated content of jasmine and may rose flower petals, seen through the exterior glass from blocks away
The journey inside engaged visitors in the brand through all of their senses: CREATION (An audio track of Coco Chanel welcomed guests with her vision of creating the worlds first designed perfume); CULTIVATION (Gesture controlled CGI flowers moved in reflecting pools of real water to reveal facts about how many thousands of jasmine and may-rose petals go into an ounce of N°5); COMPOSITION (A light-harp gave visitors a first-hand experience of composing the notes of the scent); ABSTRACTION (An anamorphic sculpture brought the iconic bottle to life as you walked around 81 pieces of acrylic indicative of the elements in N°5); RESOLUTION (A James Turrell inspired well offered personal moments to reflect and experience the scent live).
