Martino Gamper and Prada’s Harrods pop-up enters its last weekend

‘Call Mr. wood!’ chuckles Martino Gamper on Facetime from his home country of Italy, when musing on his second collaborative project with Prada – a perspective-playing pop-up space titled ‘Hideaway’ at London’s Harrods. The Wallpaper* Design Award winner, who also created a limited edition cover for our April 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*217), first partnered with the Milanese label in 2015. The resultant ‘Corner’s’ was a global window display concept, rolled out to over 300 boutiques, celebrating the humble nook, using graphic installations formed from oak, maple and ebony. 

‘[Prada CEO] Patrizio Bertelli is also really interested in materiality,’ adds Gamper of the tactile focus on the immersive installation, which created from poplar, wraps around 90 sq m of Harrods’ ground floor. Evolving the concept of ‘Corners’ the installation forms a labyrinth of different walls and oblique shelves, where luxurious items from Prada’s A/W 2020 collection are displayed. These include soft cashmere sweaters and leather shoppers, quilted jackets and suiting. ‘We’ve continued the journey from a different angle,’ Gamper – whose often creates furniture with the corner in mind - adds. ‘This time, there’s more focus on perspectives.’

After receiving Prada’s commission, Gamper hopped on a train to San Zeno, where in it’s extensive Design Archive, 1:1 versions of all its retail projects and shop windows are housed, alongside architectural models, and a library of research materials, including wood, stone and glass. ‘It allowed me to get a real sense of the space, and visualise the Hideaway concept in 3D’, Gamper explains. ‘We wanted to treat the project as a full scale installation, rather than simply designing a white cube with pieces of furniture inside it.’

INFORMATION

harrods.com
prada.com
martinogamper.com