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Known for its contemporary streetwear, Live Fast Die Young is following the successful strategy of ‘Retail meets Coffee Bar’ with the move to the new Berlin store.
The flagship store in the listed Art Nouveau building at Schlüterstraße 45 is the brand’s largest to date, and it stands out from other brands not only in terms of the collection design, but also in terms of the design of the store areas.
For the capital, the Schwitzke&Partner team around Tina Jokisch went one step further conceptually: Art Nouveau architecture combines streetwear coolness.
The fusion of streetwear and indulgence
The Düsseldorf label is adding another facet to the flourishing street style scene and, in addition to 230 sqm of sales space, offers its customers an in-house community place with the usual nonchalance: in the new heart of the space, the first LFDY café with a three-metre-long counter made of green marble not only serves various coffee specialties, iced drinks, refreshing iced tea variations and homemade lemonades, but also offers a specially designed ‘LFDY coffee collection’ with reusable cups, T-shirts, caps and coffee beans.
“Berlin thrives on change, everything is always in motion – so is LFDY,” says Riccardo Ballarino, Director Sourcing & Creative. “We wanted to set new impulses in Berlin and not only develop ourselves, but also our store. For that we needed more space and a new concept. The Kudamm has lost its attractiveness for us, which is why we decided to open the largest LFDY store to date on Schlüterstraße. With the integrated LFDY café, we are transporting our brand aesthetic to an area that goes beyond streetwear and accessories. The new flagship in Berlin is an important step for us, even after 10 years of brand history,” Ballarino continued.
Urban modernity in the new Berlin space
As in the other stores, the brand is once again working with the architects from Schwitzke&Partner. “We are delighted to be re-engaging with LFDY. From Cologne to Hamburg to Amsterdam, each of our designed stores has its very own profile,” says Tina Jokisch from Schwitzke&Partner. “Like no other city, Berlin stands for the clash of modernity and history, which is also reflected in the retail space,” explains Jokisch.
Five meter high stucco ceilings and a stainless steel-coated checkout counter in the entrance area form the prelude to a unique customer journey rich in contrast: a sweeping staircase leads to the sales area on the gallery. From there, a historical double-leaf door leads to the former cinema hall.
The room impresses with a listed wooden floor and paneled walls that have remained almost untouched. This is where the typical LFDY cabinet system was placed. This is the largest at LFDY so far, with a length of 11 meters and 186 extensions.
In order to create a technically cool contrast to the historic rooms, all presentation elements were made of stainless steel. Schwitzke&Partner have implemented an expressive design concept for the entire shop area that breaks with conventions and plays with opposites. Hexagonal tiles and a dark green border with the lettering “with us or against us” accentuate the rooms.
In Berlin, LFDY shows all facets of its holistic approach, which can be perceived again and again: Designer furniture such as curved THONET chairs, a Barcelona lounger by Mies van der Rohe, large-format works by photographers Paul Hutchinson and Tobias Zielony and a mirror image by artist Astrid Klein complete the composition of the interior away. For the first time, LFDY combines a triad of retail, design and café in their new flagship store.
Photos courtesy Carolin Ludwig
by AN shopfitting magazine no.176 ©
