For me, Selfridges is the adult equivalent to FAO Schwartz in NY - remember the humongous toy store where they shot the piano scene for the movie Big with Tom Hanks, the toy store where they want kids to play with all the toys, to have fun, to experience...- well that is Selfridges to me here in London. Every time I go I have fun because I can discover something new, something to marvel at.
After the holiday madness of December, Selfridges launched its new store-wide concept No Noise, which will remain until the end of February. It's an
initiative that goes beyond retail, the project invites you to celebrate the
power of quiet, see the beauty in function and find calm among the crowds. A project that is really in sync with the current trend of electronic detoxing - shutting off your smartphone, computer and really focusing on the here and now, mindfulness.
As always, the concept is executed to perfection, from the window displays, to the de-branded products in the no noise concept store, the silence rooms, the headspace pods and the website.
You can only imagine how excited I was when I saw this:
Yessss, it's a cloud in one of Selfridges' window displays! Remember my articles, cloud imagination 1 and cloud imagination 2, well, it seems clouds are really an it-thing now :)
The window displays are all conveying the idea of silence, quiet, no noise, featuring white objects - the white t-shirts, head phones -, and references to lightness and tranquility - like the cloud or the balloons - as well as patience, simplicity and transparency - the faucet, water and glasses
Some products co-operated by removing their are iconic logo from the packaging. Notice though, that even without the logo, these products still remain hugely recognizable and we can almost instantly fill in the gap - power of branding :)
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| Creme de la Mer |
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| Clinique Moisturizing Lotion
What is very cool as well is that Selfridges partnered up with Headspace, the modern meditation experts, to deliver an extra helping of peace and quiet. In the shop several Headspace pods are scattered about - each one offering a different guided meditation, to help calm busy heads.
The soothing voice that speaks to you when you put on the headphones in the Pod, really makes you calm down and relax. I would almost go as far as saying that the rhythm at which the voice speaks is like a bellowing hammock rocking you to sleep. Honestly, at one point I was still hearing the man speak but was not listening at all anymore, I was so relaxed that I was completely lost to the meditation.
The meditation I listened to was one about Fragrance, with Martin Margiela's 'untitled' perfume to guide me through.
If you can't make it to Selfridges, you can go to the No Noise website and listen to a Headspace meditation there! See link below:
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| A Headspace Pod |
Go to the No Noise website and
listen to some podcasts by Headspace:
http://nonoise.selfridges.com/
And if the listening is still too much for you, you can go to the Silence Room. A space created by Alex Cochrane Architects especially for Selfridges No Noise concept. A space to recuperate from the bombardment of noise and images outside...
Enjoy the quiet....shhhh...shhhh
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