Tiffanie Buchanan
Interior Designer
Interior Design Projects 01 02 03 04 Professional Design Projects Experimentations Visual Merchandising Projects
Interior Design Projects
GUCCI X Dapper DAN: HARLEM IN PARIS POP UP STORE
Who is DAPPER DAN?
Dapper Dan is regarded as the Godfather of Hip Hop Fashion and King of Urban Luxury. His unorthodox rise to fame began in 1970s Harlem, New York, selling boosted garments out of his trunk to the local gangsters. He then opened his first boutique in 1982 on Harlem’s iconic 125th Street selling fur coats.
He taught himself how to silk-screen print designer logos, like Gucci, Fendi, and MCM, and developed a method to print on leather, and started selling custom (albeit illegal) monogrammed pieces. He gained increased popularity in the early 1980s - early 1990s when he began designing for up-andcoming hip-hop artists and athletes.
He was forced to close his boutique in 1992 after a series of federal raids. For the next 20 years, Dan went underground and continued to produce “knock-ups” of major brands. In 2017, Gucci offered Dapper Dan an official collaboration, which lead to the (re)opening of his Harlem atelier and the release of his first ready-to-wear collection.
The purpose of focusing this pop-up shop around Dapper Dan is threefold. It both recognizes the impact he has had and continues to have on fashion and culture, brings much-needed attention to designers of color, and provides consumers with a way to interact with Gucci
The Site
The pop-up shop utilizes a former art gallery at 5 rue Saint Merri in heart of the Le Marais area in Paris’ 3rd arrondisment. Le Marais is rich in culture and filled with a number of small boutiques and specialty restaurants that make the area a hot spot.
The building is uses exclusively for temporary event, such as pop-up shops, art exhibitions, and fashion week events
Concept Diagram
ARCHIVAL SHOWROOM
Showcase Dan’s earlier creations and give patrons insight to his Harlem origins and progression as a designer
Customer Journey
RETAIL
A portion of dedicated retail space for patrons to buy pieces from Dan’ RTW Collection and other Gucci pieces
IN HOUSE TAILOR
For anyone buying pieces in store, they have the option to have their pieces tailored to create a more custom look
HARLEM BROWNSTONE THE ENTRANCE
ARCHIVAL SHOWROOM
STREETS OF HARLEM
ARCHIVAL SHOWROOM
RETAIL
LOUNGE
A relaxed event space for after-hour cocktails and musical guests
THE SHOP THAT NEVER CLOSED
RETAIL ARCHIVAL SHOWROOM
IN HOUSE TAILOR LOUNGE
Area
Journey Zoning Harlem Brownstone Streets of Harlem The Shop That Never Closed Entrance
SECOND FLOOR
Tailor
GROUND FLOOR
The Brownstone
FIRST FLOOR
Bodega
MATERIALS
MERCHANDISING DISPLAYS
Stood Seating/ Display
2. Custom Mannequin Head
3. Rotating Jewerly Display Case
4. Wall Mounted Rack
5. Acrylic Folding Table
6. Custom Mannequin
The gift of language arts: Literacy center
Since 2017 the French Government has put forth initiatives to revitalize reading amongst the public, especially amongst the younger generation.
Today, 20% of students lack basic knowledge (reading, writing, counting and respecting others) when they leave primary school.
This design proposal seeks to revitalize an abandoned barn in Fontenay-le-Briis, a small village two hour outside of Paris, to develop a third space that cultivates the communities’ interest in language arts and attract and better ingrates the village with the surrounding villages and the rest of Il-de-France.
Proposed Site
Town of Fontenay-le-Briis
Preschools
Elementary Schools
Colleges & High Schools
Paris
Concept:
Receive Give
Program:
Writers Retreats
Academic Writing
Book Clubs
Informal Writing Clubs
Story Hours
Parisians
Locals
Mood Board
Scale Model
Section cc
Stair detail
Professional Design Projects
Mid Century Modern Home
This client built their home in 2018 and lived there for a year before reaching out for design help to create a cohesive look throughout the front of the home.
They had already bought a few pieces for the living and dining room that had a Mid-Century Modern style and wanted to expand on that style with a contrasting neutral color palette with pops of natural color and a mix of natural textiles.
Office
Dining Room
Living Room
Home Office
Living Room
Bold Home Office & Guest Suite
Like most big-city dwellers, this Chicago based client wanted to maximize her home office to double as a guest room. She worked primarily from home, so the workspace had to be function yet fun since she spends majority of her day here.
The bold jewel tone color palette gives the small space energy while the black and white accents add an air of sophistication
Modern Coastal Master
In collaboration with a local housing developer, we designed the interiors used for several model homes in a Texas suburb.
The design concept wanted to convey an updated coastal feel that did not seem out of place in the suburbs. I designed one of the master bedrooms to be an oasis that potential homeowners could connect to and envision themselves actually living in.
Provincial-Inspired Living
This couple recently moved to the growing a neighborhood outside the bustling city of Houston, Texas. As this was a new build, the couple did not want to undertake any major transformations, focusing mainly on curating statement pieces and using color to transform the space
The couple had conflicting design tastes, one wanting a French provincial style and the other leaning toward sleek modernism. The resulting design mixes the charm and natural material one would find in the countryside with streamlined silhouettes.
Visual Merchandising Projects
FENDI FRANCE: 51 AVENUE MONTAIGNE 2022 Holiday In-Store Moments
In-store moments are events carried out by individuals boutiques throughout the year to foster client engagement. During the 2022 holiday season, Fendi stores in Paris and Monaco invited local artisans to design personalized holiday cards and biscuits.
For these events in the in-store visual merchandising team can deviate from merchandising guidelines to create displays that align with the theme of the event.
Holiday Calligraphy Card Event
For the calligraphy card event, I highlighted Fendi’s signature Peekaboo bag while taking color notes from the floral arrangement to make a festive display.
Holiday Biscuit Event
For biscuit decorating event, I used the display to feature Fendi’s home decor pieces, focusing on tableware, centerpieces and Christmas ornaments, to compliment the culinary nature of the event.
FENDI FRANCE: LE BON MARCHE SPRING 2023 CAPSULE I
Le Bon Marche is one of the several Parisian department stores with a Fendi boutique. Unlike other Fendi department store locations that split departments across different floors, Le Bon Marche boutique only carries the women’s sections at one central counter.
Since this a smaller location, we may not immediately receive every new piece in the collocation in time for the launch. So as the visual merchandising manger, I had to work closely with the in-store team to maximize the new collection pieces as well permanent collection pieces to ensure the boutique still met the global visual strategy.
Boutique Entrances
Women’s Leather Goods
Women’s Ready-to-Wear
Women’s Textiles, Accessories, & Fashion Jewelry
Women’s Shoes
Experimentations
Case Study: Brandon Blackwood New York
Brandon Blackwood New York is an American luxury brand most known for their handbags. This window display uses colored glass partitions to alter the actual color of the showcased bags while a mirrored background reflects the true color of the bags. The bags are positioned at an angle, so as you approach the display each bag slowly comes into view. First one sees the bag with the projected color from the colored glass then the true color from the mirror reflections.
Case Study: Josie and the Pussycats (1970- 72)
Based on the popular comic book of the same name, Josie and the Pussycats is an American animated series that follows a teenage rock band. This exercise takes the feline-centric, colorful 70s aesthetic of the show and applies it to an open living and dining room to create a space that still appeals to modern sensibilities.
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