United Nude, a brand founded by architect Rem D Koolhaas and seventh generation shoemaker Galahad Clark open a flagship store at 817 Huaihai Road in Shanghai. Located in the French Concession across from the Alfred Dunhill Gallery and prestige brands Rolex and Piaget, Huaihai Road has become ‘THE’ place for international brand establishment in Shanghai.



The Store Concept
From injection molded shoes to high-end carbon fiber heels, United Nude is a brand founded on conceptual design, elegance and innovation. The characteristics of the brand’s products and DNA are evident in the design of the Shanghai flagship store designed by Creative Director and architect Rem D Koolhaas. The store is a “dark-shop” concept which means that the store is completely dark in all areas other than those where the products are showcased and literally highlighted.

The in-store concept features The Wall of Light™ - a computer controlled LED wall displaying United Nude products as works of art encapsulated in geometric frames. Another important design feature is a small goods elevator that leads to a stock room above the main floor. The combination of these features creates for the customer a theatrical and entertaining shopping experience.

At the store opening Rem D said: “In Amsterdam we introduced the flagship concept of the Wall of Light, in New York we featured a Lo Res Lamborghini Countach and here in Shanghai we created a shop as a robot, where shoes move around mechanically. Each shop space simply asks for, or perhaps even dictates its own customized solution.”

Up next for United Nude is a photography exhibit in Shanghai this summer in tandem with the World Expo. In 2011 the brand is looking into opening flagship stores in London, Tokyo and Moscow.

United Nude, an iconic brand at the intersection between design and fashion is open-minded towards creative talent. After two successful collaborations with Dutch fashion designer Antoine Peters, United Nude and Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen joined forces to create shoes for van Herpen’s Autumn Winter 2010 collection. The shoes were presented in her catwalk show during London fashion week and the collaboration shall soon be available as a limited edition item, only available at the world’s most exclusive retailers and at the United Nude flagship and concept stores in Amsterdam, New York, Shanghai and Vienna at a retail price of $1,295 USD (EURO 1,000)

The Iris van Herpen X United Nude product is a glamorous ankle bootie with smooth round lines and golden leather detailing on the front and back of the shoe, with three-dimensional characteristics. Transparency, reflections and movements create the effect of visual estrangement. The construction of the shoe is so complicated and precise that each pair is 100% hand-made with the highest grade Italian kid leather available. Therefore, the production of this unique product has been kept to the very low number of 240 limited edition pairs worldwide of which 168 are in black with gold and 72 in ivory with gold.

United Nude’s Creative Director Rem D Koolhaas reflected on the collaboration by saying: “I was introduced to Iris after I had admired her work. I offered to make shoes for her, as I know that for fashion designers shoes always come as an afterthought and most fashion designers don’t have the resources to get it all done on time. I think the result of our work together is that of a pure and successful collaboration as her identity and our expertise and craftsmanship are joined in this marvelous product”.

For more information on Iris van Herpen: www.irisvanherpen.com

UNITED NUDE OPENS FIRST NORTH AMERICAN FLAGSHIP STORE AT 25 BOND STREET IN NEW YORK

United Nude, a brand founded by architect Rem D Koolhaas and seventh generation shoemaker Galahad Clark open a flagship store at 25 Bond Street on Thursday, May 20th in New York. Located on the chic Noho street across from Ian Schrager’s Herzog & de Meuron designed 40 Bond Street residence as well as uber-trendy fashion store Oak and a short walk from the new Bowery Hotel and the New Museum, the United Nude brand is firmly placed on the Manhattan landscape.

The Store Concept
From injection molded shoes to high-end carbon fiber heels, United Nude is a brand founded on conceptual design, elegance and innovation. The characteristics of the brand’s products and DNA are evident in the design of the New York flagship store designed by Creative Director and architect Rem D Koolhaas. The store is a “dark-shop” concept which means that the store is completely dark in all areas other than those where the products are showcased and literally highlighted. Two other important elements are featured in the store: the first, The Wall of Light™ - a computer controlled LED wall displaying United Nude products as works of art encapsulated in geometric frames. The second is a Lo Res car, an art sculpture designed as part of United Nude’s Lo Res Project.

The Lo Res Project
The United Nude Lo Res Project is a design method developed by United Nude to re-generate objects and make existing objects even more beautiful by envisioning them with 3D software in a lower resolution. The first such product was the United Nude Lo Res shoe made from moulded rubber with leather detailing and the next incarnation available to see at the New York flagship store is the United Nude Lo Res car. The Lo Res car was made by scanning a Lamborghini Countach into a 3D scanner and lowering the resolution of the scan to an entire series of different abstractions to choose from. One of the versions was chosen, altered and then produced. The Lo Res car, a United Nude art piece proudly sits at the front end of the United Nude New York flagship store.

At the store opening in New York, Creative Director Rem D Koolhaas reflected on the completed flagship and said: “After successfully opening flagship stores in Amsterdam and Shanghai, New York was the next logical step. The brand has been growing strongly in Asia and Europe, but we needed to press the reset button in America and show off the United Nude brand in the coolest possible way. The reason behind opening theatrical stores is for people to fully understand the brand and get the total United Nude experience.”

Up next for United Nude are store openings in Guangzhou and flagships in London and Tokyo as well as a photography exhibit in Shanghai this summer in tandem with the World Expo.

UNITED NUDE redefines the boundaries of conceptual design with artistic footwear collections for women. Launched in 2003 the brand has established itself as an iconic brand at the intersection between design and fashion, growing from strength to strength, creating ground-breaking collections each season. For Autumn/Winter 2010 the brand has again produced a powerful collection, maintaining their promise of high quality and conceptual design, without compromising its identity.

Continuing to offer their Fold, Helix and Bubble boots, Autumn/Winter 2010 has introduced updated impactful designs.

New for the season is the Ultra Loop Boot, a revolutionary shoe silhouette with an entirely new dimension - its exclusive carbon fibre heel. The design is based on a simple concept of penetration: a floating foot-bed slips through a sexy loop, functioning as both heel and upper.

Boots are key to the collection with a range of designs and a series of thigh high boots with distinct conceptual feel allowing the UNITED NUDE woman to flaunt her sexuality this winter. This is seen with the Pin Boot and Boot-in-Boot concepts. These are created using state of the art materials and design - giving both support and instant sex appeal. Also new for the season is the peep toe Cup Rock boot and Cup Roxie, drawing on military influences with UNITED NUDE’s architectural inspirations.

Iconic to the UNITED NUDE brand, the Eamz has been updated with an elegant new last. The Eamz group has a fresh look revealing the Eamz Ballroom, a classic style T-bar and the Eamz Collar, an entirely new ankle bootie with a sleek nappa upper and rounded topline.

This season UNITED NUDE has experimented with new materials, using soft nappa and stretchy suede, giving the designs a luxurious feel and providing a perfect fit. A brand based on innovation, clear concepts and elegance, the Autumn/Winter 2010 collection showcases products in autumnal pantones, reconstructed designs and sleeker, sexier styles.