January 29th, 2015 by retail design blog
Shoppers are encouraged to get hot under the collar while perusing the erotic products on offer at this Munich sex shop, with a curvaceous interior by New York designer Karim Rashid.
Karim Rashid has overhauled the interior of an existing space, adding organic forms to create the Fun Factory’s third store, which sells sex toys, lingerie and bondage gear. “For the Fun Factory Munich store I was determined to create a retail environment filled with desire, emotion, and passion,” Rashid told Dezeen. “Although the physical architecture of the existing building was difficult to soften, I succeeded in designing a sensual space.” Following store designs in Berlin and Bereman, the retail space at the Bavarian capital’s Viktualienmarkt is split over two levels.
Far from all the usual clichés, the Fun Factory store in Munich satisfies primal desire with over 180-square-metres of open floor,” said a statement from the brand. The brightly lit ground floor displays lingerie, accessories and body care, as well as seductive literature. Large windows on two sides are obscured with patterns of gold and silver dots, offering glimpses of provocatively dressed mannequins from outside. Opposite, a wall of glass shelving presents the erotic books and a wavy unit in the centre follows the shape of the Mr Pink silicone “designer dildo” Rashid created for the brand, which sits on top.
“Once marginal and taboo, sex and sex toys, like design, are now ubiquitous,” said Rashid. “The underlying narratives of sex toys, like perfume bottles for example, are desire, form, seduction, beauty, and physicality.” A patterned staircase leads up to the darker first floor, where display units are shaped to represent parts of the body. “Visiting the store should be empowering so the architecture is built with strong clean pure organic forms, representative of a strong, confident, and proud woman,” said Rashid. “The shapes are reminiscent of secondary erogenous zones like the curves of the neck, collarbone, behind the knee, hips, and lips. The display tables are reminiscent of my dildo design, Mr Pink, for Fun factory.”
More sex toys, underwear and “exotic clubwear” are found upstairs, where white lines trace curves around the black floor and the organic forms on the walls are picked out with cove lighting. Smaller rooms off the main space are dedicated to specific garment styles, hung on rails within recesses in the walls. Throughout the store, a palette of black, gold and white is used to compliment the leather garments as well as contrast with the brightly coloured dildos. “The fine line for me was to do something tasteful, not too literal, and a bit abstract, since the objects they sell are so animated,” Rashid said.
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