Published
Nov 30, 2017
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Bottletop opens sustainably futurist store on Regent Street

Published
Nov 30, 2017

UK sustainable luxury brand Bottletop has opened on Regent Street as the thoroughfare just around the corner from London’s Oxford Street continues its rise as a key destination for debut and flagship stores.


Bottletop



And this new store is certainly headline-worthy with a powerful back story and an innovative approach to store design that’s unlikely to be matched on Regent any time soon.

The brand, which has built up a celebrity following including Jessica Alba, Claire Danes and Livia Firth, started as a product collaboration with Mulberry supporting artisans in the developing world and charitable foundation funding education projects.

It has since grown into one of the most interesting accessories brands in Britain with a focus on sustainability, artisanal production techniques form different cultures and blending industrial design with contemporary art using sustainably sourced and upcycled materials.

The new store at 84 regent Street is its first permanent retail address and offers up an impressive futuristic look and feel that is the result of a collaboration with various forward-looking partners.

They include the robotics firm Kuka, plus artificial intelligence manufacturing specialist AI Build and London-based Krause Architects. they’ve put together the first store ever to have major elements 3D-printed by robots using upcycled plastic. And those robots are staying in-store during the opening weeks to help customers understand just what has gone into its creation.

The overall look was inspired by the sculpture of a can minus the ring-pull created by Turner Prize-winning contemporary artist Rachel Whiteread for the brand. It’s “a tongue-in-cheek play on the negative space of the metal not used in the Bottletop designs,” were told. Co-founder Oliver Wayman set out to “expound and multiply this concept to create a metal canopy, which could frame and support the presentation of the collection and alter the sensation of the space. to enable the customer to truly feel like they had entered a new world.”

Over 2,700 cans were individually suspended in the space over a 10-day build, each individually treated and hung at lengths that were precise to the millimetre. Meanwhile, shelving has been wrapped in certified zero deforestation leather from Sao Matheus Farm in Alto Floresta, while consoles were wrapped in re-purposed sheet aluminium.

It’s claimed to be the “world’s first zero-waste retail space” and is a “synthesis between the hand-made and the most high-tech, showing that those elements can be harnessed sustainably and work in harmony with our collection,” said co-founder Cameron Saul.

The design vision for the space is completed by flooring made from upcycled rubber tyres, a bespoke in-store scent from perfumer Timothy Han, and a series of bespoke playlists from record producer Mario C, the name behind Beastie Boys and Bjork recordings. Mario C produced the Bottletop Band album featuring Carl Barat (Libertines), Matt Helders (Arctic Monkeys) and Gruff Rhys.

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