Yesterday Elly, Justas, Chris and I had an interesting lunch, we went to check out the current installation showing at the Galeria Melissa in Covent Garden. Melissa is a Brazilian footwear brand (specialising in jelly shoes) that collaborates with different designers around the world.

There’s a lot to see and a lot of digital in store that’s really well integrated with the collection and the interiors. There’s an LED screen wall controlled by an app that allows products to appear and disappear, a mirror that changes for laser lights, product displays that travel up and down, and mirrors and screens with some beautiful motion graphics animation, but even with all that going on it doesn’t feel overwhelming.

There are a few things we think could be better implemented. For instance, the tablets that sit in the wall show the extension of the collection, but the content isn’t engaging and feels very disconnected from the rest of the store, which is a shame because it could have been a really interesting way to connect the customers with Melissa’s online content. Another aspect we feel could be improved is engaging customers with the shoes in the downstairs installation. Fitted with many mirrors and lights, the installation could have been developed and transformed into something interesting for the customers to play with and share the experience with others.

The shop explores opacity and transparency, visibility and reflection, and at the moment there is an immersive installation from Megan Broadmeadow that reproduces our galaxy with psychedelic textures and fascinating projections, mirrors, lights and sounds.

The space was designed by Brazilian artist Muti Randolph, who developed his own software to create visual identities based in sound and light. Back in 2005 he created the amazing dynamic space for Melissa’s São Paulo flagship, which involved collaborating with different artists to design huge panels displayed on the store’s exterior.

If you get the chance, go check it out:

43 KING STREET
COVENT GARDEN
LONDON
WC2E 8JS