2 minute read
Christian Lahoude
Christian Lahoude is the founder and principal designer of the eponymous New York City Studio which crafts custom, dynamic experiences for the world’s most elite brands by transforming retail and hospitality spaces into immersive, memorable moments.
Since 2012, he has worked with blue chip brands including Jimmy Choo, Alexander Wang and Sulwhasoo, and designed one-off, full-sensory experiences in retail locations all over the world.
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Building on his past experience of working at Gucci’s, Tiffany’s and Chanel, where he fell in love with the entire process of “capturing and expressing elite retail brand identities through dynamic customer experiences”, Christian has become the go-to designer of choice for elite retail brands. The Studio has evolved over the last decade to include high-end hospitality, spa and wellness spaces, and Christian’s team now works with design of all scales – from boutique interiors, to facades and shopping complexes.
The Studio brings a tailored approach to every project and encapsulates each brand’s unique DNA to provide architectural and design solutions with a global outlook and scale. At the same time, Christian and his team highlight the local identity of each space in project locations as varied as Tokyo, London, Beirut and Beijing. This customisation is applied even within the same city, with Jimmy Choo’s Madison Avenue and Soho stores, for example, each getting a locationappropriate look: Madison Avenue representing upper-east-side elegance and sophistication, and Soho offering down-town cool for young fashionistas.
Increasingly, buildings in general and high-end spaces are expected to be “smart”, automated and optimised for incorporating high spec technologies; similarly, retail customers expect their shopping expedition to be an experience, as opposed to a simple errand.
Christian acknowledges the ever-growing need for technology to be incorporated into new design projects across the industry in order to remain current. His in-house background, with its varied marketing and merchandising requirements, involved a full-service approach to technology which he has brought into his current portfolio.
While the Studio does not deal in the detailed implementation of smart technologies per se, the team does work with brands to recommend technological solutions that fulfil their unique needs. The Studio is well versed in technological solutions which support the customer experience, including easily updated video and visual content, and mobile payment systems that replace cumbersome point-of-service technology with streamlined phones and tablets. Most recently, we have been working with a client on interactive touch screens that enable customers to request items and ask for assistance from the comfort of their fitting room.
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