One showroom, three looks

A multibrand showroom has to do two things at once: feel like one coherent space, and let each collection read as its own. In this showroom, we built the shell once, with bespoke steel walls and a green carpet, and changed only the furniture for each category.

The same room became a lounge for menswear, an open gallery for womenswear and a sculptural installation for accessories. Every change came from NOVU's rental collection, so nothing had to be rebuilt between set-ups.

NOVU designs showrooms and trade fair stands for fashion brands in New York, Paris and Copenhagen, from fully bespoke builds to furniture rental.

What stays the same: bespoke steel walls and a green carpet

The walls and floor are the constant. We made them bespoke for this showroom, and they stayed in place for all three collections, so the space reads as one showroom from any angle.

The steel panels catch the light and spread it softly around the room. Products near the walls get a gentle reflected glow rather than hard shadows, and the room feels larger than it is.

The green carpet does the opposite job. It softens the sound for buyer appointments, adds warmth against the steel, and gives black furniture and dark product a strong ground to stand out on.

Because the shell carries the identity, the furniture is free to change. That is where rental comes in: we swap pieces between collections instead of rebuilding the room.

Menswear: a lounge built around Sandra sofas

For menswear, the room became a lounge. Two black leather Sandra sofas, designed by Annie Hiéronimus for Cinna, face each other across the K1000 Coffee Table, so buyers can sit down and go through the line together.

The product sits around the seating rather than in front of it. Shoes and small leather goods sit on black USM Haller shelves at the back, and outerwear and tailoring hang on a single black steel rail at the side. Keeping the garments to one rail lets the dark pieces read clearly against the steel.

The sofas set the tone. Their deep, channel-quilted leather is low and heavy, which gives the space weight and keeps the eye line low and horizontal. The Noctambule Floor Lamp adds one vertical accent and a soft point of light in the corner.

Womenswear: Oscar Niemeyer's Alta armchair and NOVU shelves

For womenswear, we opened the room up. Instead of a seating group in the middle, a single Alta armchair and ottoman by Oscar Niemeyer sits to one side, and the floor in between stays clear.

Garments are shown one at a time. A white trench hangs alone on our Rail 11, so its silhouette reads like a piece in a gallery rather than one item on a rail.

The black shelving is NOVU's own, our Shelving Set in 3 Levels. Bags and shoes sit with plenty of space between them, mirrored plinths at different heights hold fragrance, and the SuperWire Floor Lamp adds height and light at the edge of the room.

The Alta's curved steel base picks up the steel walls, and its black leather matches the shelving. The set-up feels lighter than the menswear lounge, but it clearly belongs to the same room.

Accessories: an installation of black Panton Wire

For accessories, the furniture became the display. We stacked and layered black Panton Wire, Verner Panton's modular wire system, into a single installation in the middle of the room, with no seating and no rails.

Each pair of shoes gets its own level. Some sit high on tall units, others low on wide reflective tops, so buyers see every piece at a different height as they walk around it.

Panton Wire works here because it is mostly air. The thin black frames almost disappear against the steel, so the product is the first thing you see. Two Taccia lamps on the floor light the installation from either side.

How to make one showroom work for several collections

The principle is simple: make bespoke what carries your identity, and rent what needs to change.

• Build the shell once. Walls, floor and lighting stay in place. They make the space recognisable, so they are worth making bespoke.
• Choose one hero piece per collection. The Sandra sofas, the Alta chair and the Panton Wire installation each set the tone for their set-up.
• Change the height line. Low and horizontal for menswear, a few tall vertical accents for womenswear, layered heights for accessories.
• Adjust the density. Fewer pieces with more space make each one feel special. A fuller rail suits a line buyers need to work through.
• Match the seating to the appointment. A full lounge suits long sit-down appointments, one chair a quicker walk-through, and no seating at all when buyers should circle the product.
• Keep one palette. Black and steel ran through all three set-ups, so each change reads as a new mood rather than a new showroom.

NOVU works at three levels: bespoke design and build, rental with spatial design, or rental only. If you are planning a showroom or a trade fair stand, get in touch.